Comparatives and superlatives

Comparative and Superlatives

We use the comparative and superlative form to compare and contrast different objects in English

  

Comparative

Use the comparative form to show the difference between two objects.

Example: New York is more exciting than Seattle.

Here is a chart showing how to construct the comparative form in English. Notice in the example sentences that we use 'than' to compare the two objects:

• One Syllable Adjectives:

       1. Add '-er' to end of the adjective
          Example: cheap - cheaper
                         high - higher
                This book is cheaper than that book.
        2. Double the final consonant if preceded by a vowel
          Example: hot - hotter
               Yesterday was hotter than today. 

•  Two Syllable Adjectives Ending in '-y' 

          Example: happy - happier / funny - funnier

               I am happier than you.

               That joke was funnier than his joke.  

• Two, Three or More Syllable Adjectives 

         Place 'more' before the adjective  
          Example: interesting - more interesting
                         difficult - more difficult

                London is more expensive than Madrid.

                This test is more difficult than the last test.

  

Superlatives

Use the superlative form when speaking about three or more objects to show which object is 'the most' of something.
Example: New York is the most exciting city in the USA.

Here is a chart showing how to construct the superlative form in English:

• One Syllable Adjectives 

         1. Place 'the' before the adjective and add '-est' to end of the adjective
             Example: cheap - the cheapest
                            high - the highest
                   This book is the cheapest I can find.
         2. Double the final consonant if preceded by a vowel.

             Example: hot - the hottest

                   Today is the hottest day of the summer.

• Two, Three or More Syllable Adjectives

         Place 'the most' before the adjective. 
         Example: interesting - the most interesting
                        difficult - the most difficult

               London is the most expensive city in England.

               That is the most beautiful painting here.
               He is the most important person I know.

• Two Syllable Adjectives Ending in '-y'

         Place 'the' before the adjective and remove the 'y' from the adjective and add 'iest'

         Example: happy - the happiest
                        funny - the funniest

                New York is the noisiest city in the USA.

               

Irregular comparatives and superlatives
There are some important exceptions to these rules. Here are two of the most important exceptions:

Example:

This book is better than that one.

This is the best school in the city.

His French is worse than mine.

This is the worst day of my life.