Comparative & Superlative Adjectives

by Teacher Victor

Comparative means we are comparing two things together. One of them is more of something than the other.

This movie was scary!

I saw a movie yesterday that was scarier than this one. Were talking about movies here, but

 In many cases for comparative adjectives, we simply add er to the adjective, but there are exceptions
One-Syllable Adjective tall old long Comparative Form taller older longer

We also put the word than after the comparative adjective.

Mark is tall. Chris is taller than Mark.

 If an adjective ends in an e already, we dont have to add er (large largeer). Just add an r.
One-Syllable Adjective with Final -e strange wise large Comparative Form stranger wiser larger

T. Victor is stranger than T. Songh.

 If an adjective ends in a single consonant (not a, e, i, o, u), double that consonant before adding er.
One-Syllable Adjective with single consonant big thin fat Comparative Form

bigger thinner fatter

T. Scott is fatter than T. Seth.

 Do not add er to a two-syllable adjective. Instead we add the word more and follow the adjective with than.
Two-Syllable Adjective peaceful pleasant careful Comparative Form more peaceful more pleasant more careful

My dad is more careful than my mom.

 If an adjective ends with a y, we cut the y and add ier. Two-Syllable Adjective ending with -y happy angry busy Comparative Form
happier angrier busier

I am busier today than I was yesterday.

 If a two-syllable adjective ends with et, -ow, or le, use the regular form ending in er although adding more than is also ok.
Two-Syllable Adjective Comparative Form ending with et, -ow, or -le quiet quieter narrow narrower gentle gentler Gift is quieter than Queen.

 If an adjective has 3 or more syllables, just add more ________ than.

Three-Syllable and more Adjectives Comparative Form

beautiful generous intelligent

supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

more beautiful more generous more intelligent

more supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

T. Noi is more beautiful than T. Victor.

Exceptions Just like we have irregular verbs, we also have irregular adjectives.
Irregular Adjectives Comparative Form

good better bad worse far farther little less many/much more There is more bad news today than yesterday.

Superlative Adjectives

Superlative adjectives mean they are the most of something. We use them when we are comparing three or more things.

P5 is the best grade in the school! In the sentence above, we used the irregular adjective good but changed it

Exceptions Add the Superlative column to the end of your irregular comparative column.
Irregular Adjectives Superlative Form

good bad far little many/much

the best the worst the farthest the least the most

All other adjectives follow the exact same rule as the comparative adjectives, but instead of adding er, r, ier, or more do the following
tall = the tallest strange = the strangest big = the biggest quiet = the quietest careful = the most careful happy = the happiest intelligent = the most intelligent See if you can fill in the rest of your charts with the superlative forms of each adjective.