Comparatives and Superlatives (Short)

What does "comparative and superlative" mean

To compare two things, you use the comparative "-er" or "more":
lighter: A feather is lighter than a stone.
more expensive: A house is more expensive than a tent.

The superlative is used to show which element of three or more reaches a degree higher than all the others. It is introduced with "-est" or "most":
kindest: He is the kindest person I know. (Nobody is kinder than him.)
most intelligent: They are not the most intelligent. (There is someone who is more intelligent.)

How to form them

1) We add -er for the comparative and -est for the superlative after words with one syllable or two-syllable adjectives that end in -у.

fast small cold	faster smaller colder	fastest smallest coldest	in most cases we simply add -er/-est to the adjective
wide fine cute	wider finer cuter	widest finest cutest	when the adjective ends in -е, just add -r/-st
big fat hot	bigger fatter hotter	biggest fattest hottest	when the adjective ends in a single vowel, followed by a single consonant, double the consonant before adding -er/-est. More about this rule: Spelling Rules
pretty happy easy	prettier happier easier	prettiest happiest easiest	when the adjective ends in a consonant, followed by -y, -у becomes -i and we add -er/-est.

2) We add more or most to adjectives with two or more syllables.

comfortable	more comfortable	most comfortable
famous	more famous	most famous
interesting	more interesting	most interesting

3) Some common adjectives are irregular.

good	better	best
bad	worse	worst
far	further	furthest
many/much	more	most
little	less	least

How to use them

1) We compare with "than":
Jim's hair is shorter than Tim's.
His house is more expensive than hers.

*As intensifiers you can use words like "far, much, a lot" (for a big difference), "a little, a bit, slightly" (for a small difference), "so much", etc.:
You are a lot prettier than her, honey!
The book is much more interesting than the film.
Cut it a little shorter this time!


2) The superlative adjectives is usually preceded by "the":
This is the best meal I've ever had.
He is the greatest actor!

Instead of "the" you can have possession:
This is my greatest achievement!
He is Jim's best friend.

or both:
He is my teacher's son.

3) We can intensify the superlative using: "by far, easily, of all".
This method is by far the most complicated one.
She’s easily the best dancer in the group. No one is as elegant as her.
There were a number of excellent poems entered for the competition, but the best poem of all was written by a ten-year-old boy.


4) "as... as..." used when two things are at the same level. (Possible intensifiers added in brackets):
You are (just) as good at golf as he is!
He is (at least) as old as you are.
Marcus is (not nearly) as intelligent as his brother.

Notice that here all adjectives are in their base form!

Exercises