As a review for those in my Monday evening class, here is a quick overview of the comparative and superlative adjectives.
There are basically 4 categories of adjectives you need to know to form the comparative and superlative.
| 1. One syllable adjectives (big, small, fast, etc…) |
| 2. Two syllable adjectives ending in –y (sunny, windy, etc..) |
| 3. Two syllable or more adjectives (interesting, experienced, etc..) |
| 4. Irregular adjectives (good, bad, far) |
Take a look at this chart for forming both the comparative and the superlative.
Comparative Form (-er) | Superlative Form (-est) | |
| 1. one syllable | big → bigger (*in short adjectives ending in a vowel and consonant, double the consonant before adding -er) small → smaller fast → faster | The article ‘the’ is necessary before a superlative adjective! big → the biggest small → the smallest fast → the fastest |
| 2. two syllables ending in -y | It is necessary to change the ‘y’ into ‘i’ before adding –er. sunny → sunnier funny → funnier windy → windier | It is necessary to change ‘y’ into ‘i’ before adding –est. sunny → the sunniest funny → the funniest windy → the windiest |
| 3. two syllables or more | Add ‘more’ before the adjective only. fascinating → more fascinating colorful → more colorful interesting → more interesting | Add ‘the most’ before the adjective only. fascinating → the most fascinating colorful → the most colorful interesting → the most interesting |
| 4. irregular adjectives | good → better bad → worse far → farther/further (*both forms are used when speaking about distance; if giving more detail than only ‘further’ is used.) | good → the best bad → the worst far → the farthest/the furthest (*both forms are used when speaking about distance; if giving more detail than only ‘further’ is used.) |
Of course English wouldn’t be English without some exceptions to the rules!!!
fun → more fun → the most fun (even though it is a short, one-syllable adjective, it is treated like a long adjective.)
Both forms for creating the comparative and superlative can be used for these adjectives!!
| quiet | → | quieter | → | the quietest |
→ | more quiet | → | the most quiet | |
| clever | → | cleverer | → | the cleverest |
→ | more clever | → | the most clever |
Other adjectives that take both forms are: narrow, shallow and simple
Now take a look and study how the comparative and superlative are used:
Comparative – is used to show a degree of difference between two or more things.
| 1. This exam was easier than the last week’s exam. (Usually the comparative form is followed by ‘than’ if the object with which you are making the comparison is mentioned.) |
| 2. Taking the train is more expensive than driving. |
| 3. I’d like to have a bigger flat. |
| 4. This garden looks better since you cleaned it up. |
| 5. I think Lisbon’s streets are narrower than Strasbourg’s. / I think Lisbon’s streets are more narrow than Strasbourg’s. (one of the adjectives that takes either form) |
| 6. Seattle, Washington is rainier than Miami, Florida. |
| 7. We went farther / further away on holiday than our neighbor did. (in terms of distance, either irregular form is used) |
| 8. Could you explain further what you mean? (in sense of giving more details, only further is used) |
Superlative – is used to show that something has the greatest degree out of a group. It isn’t being compared to anything else, it is being pointed out as having nothing greater in degree to it!
| 1. Jane is 15, Tom is 12 and Tina is 14. Jane is the oldest and Tina is older than Tom. (of this given group) |
| 2. Tokyo is the largest city in the world. (there is nothing larger anywhere else) |
| 3. David is the most generous person I have ever known. |
| 4. I have tasted three different wines this evening. The Sylvaner and Gewüztraminer were quite good but this Pinot Gris was the best one! |
| 5. Chicago is known as ‘The Windy City’ because it is the windiest city in the United States. |
| 6. His explanation of the events has gone the furthest so far. (has gone into the most detail) |
| 7. Of all the members in my walking club, I have walked the farthest / the furthest. (in terms of distance, both forms are possible.) |
| 8. She always gets the best grades on all the tests. She is the cleverest / the most clever student in our class. (one of the adjectives that takes either form) |
Here are some online explanations, quizzes and exercises
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/compsup2.htm
http://www.e-anglais.com/cours/comparatifs_et_superlatifs.html
