Comparatives and Superlatives

English Grammar Rules

We use Comparatives and Superlatives to compare two or more nouns.
The formation of the comparative and superlative depends on the number of syllables in
the adjective:

One-syllable Adjectives
To form the comparative, we add -er to the end of the adjective.
To form the superlative, we add -est to the end of the adjective.

Adjective Comparative Superlative

small smaller the smallest
cold colder the coldest
light lighter the lightest
wide * wider the widest
hot ** hotter the hottest

* When an adjective ends in the letter E, we just add the -R (for comparatives) or -ST
(for superlatives). We do not write two Es together. Wider (correct)
not wideer (incorrect).
** When an adjective ends in a consonant + short vowel + consonant (C + V + C), we
normally double the last letter. big - bigger - biggest, wet - wetter - wettest
 London is bigger than Santiago.
 Mike is taller than John but James is the tallest.
 Yesterday was the hottest day of the year.
 It is the oldest building in the village.
 I want a faster car.
Notice how comparatives are often followed by than when comparing two things or
people.

Two-syllable Adjectives ending in -Y

To form the comparative, we remove the -y and add -ier to the end of the adjective.
To form the superlative, we remove the -y and add -iest to the end of the adjective.
Adjective Comparative Superlative
crazy crazier the craziest
happy happier the happiest
early earlier the earliest

 It was the happiest day of my life.

 My joke was funnier than your one.
 This section is easier than the rest.
Adjectives with Two or more Syllables
For Adjectives with 2 syllables (that don't end in -y) and higher (3, 4 syllables etc), we
use more for comparatives and the most for superlatives.
Adjective Comparative Superlative
handsome more handsome the most handsome
nervous more nervous the most nervous
enthusiastic more enthusiastic the most enthusiastic

 My girlfriend is more beautiful than yours.

 Alex is more intelligent than you but I am the most intelligent.
 It was the most wonderful day I have ever had.
Some exceptions with two-syllable adjectives ending in -er and -est:
narrow - narrower, simple - simpler, quiet - quieter

Irregular Forms
Adjective Comparative Superlative
good better the best
bad worse the worst
far *** further / farther the furthest / farthest
little less the least
many/much more the most
old **** older/elder the oldest / eldest

 I am a better tennis player than you but Marcelo is the best.

 Steve is a worse liar than me but Adrian is the worst.

*** Farther - Further

Further / farther, furthest / farthest are all used for distance.
Only Further / furthest are used to mean 'additional' or 'more advanced'.
 Puerto Montt is further / farther than Valdivia is from here (in Santiago).
 If you require further information, please contact reception.
Remember that the opposites of 'more' and 'most' are 'less' and 'least', respectively.
**** Older - Eldest
We use elder / eldest when we are talking about family relationships and normally only
before a noun (not by itself unless it is a pronoun).
 He is my elder brother. (We cannot say: My brother is elder than me. -
incorrect)
 The eldest sister would pass on her dresses to the younger one.
Comparative and Superlative of ILL
When comparing how ill people are, you will normally hear worse or the worst and not
"iller or illest". Some people may prefer to replace ill with sick (sicker, sickest) when
comparing.
Summary Chart
Superlative Adjectives
Posted by Tanya Trusler on Jan 14, 20140 Comments
Adjectives describe people, places, and things in English. What happens when
we want to compare a lot of nouns at once? We use superlative adjectives! If
you tried or will try our lesson of the week, Achievements & Records, then you
might want to review superlative adjectives with your students. These adjectives
are very common when deciding who is the best at a certain activity!

Download Superlative Adjectives Chart PDF

Superlative Adjectives:
1. USE: Use superlative adjectives to compare more than two people, places,
or things. Since adjectives describe nouns, superlative adjectives are
descriptions about three or more nouns’ height, speed, wealth, age, etc., where
one thing is the most out of a whole group.
2. FORM:

 one-syllable adjective: the + Adj + -est

 two-syllable adjective ending with -y: the + Adj (-y changes to -i) + -est
 two-syllable adjective (not ending in -y): the + most + Adj
 three-syllable (or more) adjective: the + most + Adj

Note: Some two-syllable adjectives don’t follow the rules above exactly. For
example, we can say the friendliest OR the most friendly, and the
simplest OR the most simple. Other such adjectives
include angry, cruel, handsome, gentle, and quiet.
3. EXAMPLES:

 John is the oldest boy in the class.

 Out of all of my classmates, Christina is the happiest. She’s always smiling!
 Brad Pitt is the most famous actor in Hollywood.
 Her last painting is the most beautiful one she’s ever done.

Note: We can use out of all of the + plural noun to indicate the group we’re
comparing something to. The word out and/or the second of are often dropped
in casual speech. Sometimes we leave out the whole expression if it is implied.
(E.g., all of the following sentences are correct and have the same
meaning: John is the oldest boy out of all of the students in the class, John is
the oldest boy of all of the students in the class, John is the oldest boy out of
all the students in the class, John is the oldest boy of all the students in the
class, and John is the oldest boy in the class.)
4. WHAT ABOUT “THE LEAST”?
We can also make comparisons in English where one thing is the least of a
group of things. We use the following pattern in this case: the least + Adj.
Examples:

 Yukie is the least old in the class. (Note that the least sounds a bit strange
with one-syllable adjectives. It’s better to use a different superlative adjective
with the same meaning, such as the youngest in this case.)
 Out of all my classmates, Juan is the least happy. He never smiles.
 The new guy on that TV show must be the least famous actor in
Hollywood.
 Her first painting is the least beautiful one she’s ever done.
Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
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Comparative adjectives are used to compare differences between the two objects.
Superlative adjective takes the comparison of nouns to the highest degree. A superlative
adjective compares three or more nouns. For most important comparative and superlative
adjectives list;
angry angrier than the angriest
attractive more attractive than the most attractive
bad worse than the worst
beautiful more beautiful than the most beautiful
big bigger than the biggest
bitter bitterer bitterest
black blacker blackest
bloody bloodier bloodiest
blue bluer bluest
boring more boring than the most boring
brave braver than the bravest
bossy bossier bossiest
bright brighter than the brightest
calm calmer calmest
careful more careful than the most careful
careless more careless than the most careless
classy classier classiest
cheap cheaper than the cheapest
clean cleaner than the cleanest
clear clearer than the clearest
clever cleverer than the cleverest
close closer than the closest
cold colder than the coldest
comfortable more comfortable than the most comfortable
complicated more complicated than the most complicated
cool cooler than the coolest
dangerous more dangerous than the most dangerous
dark darker than the darkest
deep deeper than the deepest
delicious more delicious than the most delicious
difficult more difficult than the most difficult
dirty dirtier than the dirtiest
dry drier than the driest
early earlier than the earliest
easy easier than the easiest
empty emptier than the emptiest
exciting more exciting than the most exciting
expensive more expensive than the most expensive
famous more famous than the most famous
far farther than the farthest
fast faster than the fastest
fat fatter than the fattest
flat flatter than the flattest
fresh fresher than the freshest
friendly more friendly than the most friendly
funny funnier than the funniest
good better than the best
great greater than the greatest
happy happier than the happiest
hard harder than the hardest
heavy heavier than the heaviest
high higher than the highest
horrible more horrible than the most horrible
hot hotter than the hottest
hungry hungrier than the hungriest
important more important than the most important
intelligent more intelligent than the most intelligent
interesting more interesting than the most interesting
kind kinder than the kindest
large larger than the largest
late later than the latest
lazy lazier than the laziest
light lighter than the lightest
long longer than the longest
loud louder than the loudest
low lower than the lowest
lucky luckier than the luckiest
modern more modern than the most modern
narrow narrower than the narrowest
near nearer than the nearest
new newer than the newest
nice nicer than the nicest
noisy noisier than the noisiest
old older than the oldest
poor poorer than the poorest
popular more popular then the most popular
powerful more powerful than the most powerful
pretty prettier than the prettiest
quick quicker than the quickest
quiet quieter than the quietest
rich richer than the richest
sad sadder than the saddest
safe safer than the safest
short shorter than the shortest
silly sillier than the silliest
simple simpler than the simplest
slim slimmer than the slimmest
slow slower than the slowest
small smaller than the smallest
soft softer than the softest
soon sooner than the soonest
strange stranger than the strangest
successful more successful than the most successful
strong stronger than the strongest
sweet sweeter than the sweetest
tall taller than the tallest
terrible more terrible than the most terrible
thick thicker than the thickest
thin thinner than the thinnest
thirsty thirstier than the thirstiest
ugly uglier than the ugliest
useful more useful than the most useful
warm warmer than the warmest
weak weaker than the weakest
wet wetter than the wettest
wide wider than the widest
wonderful more wonderful than the most wonderful
young younger than the youngest