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Comparison of Adjectives

When we want to compare two or more nouns using adjectives, we use the comparative and superlative forms of the adjective to show the comparison between the nouns. E.g. -

Honey is sweet, sugar is sweeter but victory is the sweetest.

In this sentence, we are comparing the three nouns using the positive, comparative and superlative forms of the word ‘sweet’.

Positive Form -

These are the simple adjectives that simply describe the noun without comparing it to another - big, sweet, clean, etc.

She has a big black dog.

He is a sweet boy.

The cupboard is clean.

Comparative Form -

These are used when we are comparing two nouns and need to show which noun possesses the adjective or character in a greater or lesser amount, when compared with the other. - bigger, sweeter, cleaner, etc.

I have a big dog but hers is bigger.

He is sweeter than the other boys.

The cupboard is cleaner than before.

Superlative Form -

This form is used when three or more nouns are being compared and we need to show that one or more of the nouns posses the adjective or characteristic to the highest amount possible. We usually add ‘the’ before the superlative form. - biggest, sweetest, cleanest, etc.

She has the biggest dog in the colony.

He is the sweetest boy in his class.

The cupboard is the cleanest thing in the house.

Making Comparatives and Superlatives

There are certain rules that must be followed in the making of the comparatives and superlatives of the adjectives. Not all adjectives form their comparatives and superlatives in the same way and there are also some irregular adjectives that form completely different comparative and superlative forms.

Single Syllable Words and Double Syllable Words ending with -y, -er, -ow, -le -

We use ‘-er’ to make the comparative and ‘-est’ to make the superlative.

|Positive |Comparative |Superlative |

|Black |Blacker |Blackest |

|Fair |Fairer |Fairest |

|Clever |Cleverer |Cleverest |

When there is a silent ‘e’ at the end of the positive form, we remove that and add ‘-er’ and ‘-est’

|Positive |Comparative |Superlative |

|Nice |Nicer |Nicest |

|Late |Later |Latest |

When the adjective ends with a ‘y’, we convert the ‘y’ into ‘i’ before adding ‘-er’ and ‘-est’

|Positive |Comparative |Superlative |

|Pretty |Prettier |Prettiest |

|Lazy |Lazier |Laziest |

If the adjective is a small one with little stress on the vowel, we double the last consonant.

|Positive |Comparative |Superlative |

|Hot |Hotter |Hottest |

|Wet |Wetter |Wettest |

Other Words with Two or More Syllables -

For other double syllable words that do not end with -y, -er, -ow, -le, and for adjectives with more than two syllables we use more and most to form the comparatives and superlatives.

|Positive |Comparative |Superlative |

|Difficult |More Difficult |Most Difficult |

|Careful |More Careful |Most Careful |

|Handsome |More Handsome |Most Handsome |

|Interesting |More Interesting |Most Interesting |

Special Adjectives –

There a few adjectives that can use both ‘-er and -est’ and ‘more’ and ‘most’ to form their comparative and superlative forms. The distinction between these is that ‘-er and -est’ are used when we are comparing the noun to another noun and ‘more’ and ‘most’ is used when we are comparing characteristics within the noun.

|Positive |Comparative |Superlative |Example |

|Clever |Cleverer/ More Clever |Cleverest/Most Clever |He is cleverer than her. |

| | | |He is more clever than studious. |

|Quiet |Quieter/ More Quiet |Quietest/ Most Quiet |This is the most quiet it gets here. |

| | | |This is the quietest place. |

|Brave |Braver/ More Brave |Bravest/ Most Brave |She is braver than other girls. |

| | | |She was more brave than afraid. |

|Sure |Surer/ More Sure |Surest/ Most Sure |He was surer of the result than others. |

| | | |You’ll be more sure about the concept |

| | | |after you read the chapter. |

Irregular Comparisons –

These adjectives do not make their comparative and superlative forms using the rules above. Their comparative and superlative forms are different words altogether.

|Positive |Comparative |Superlative |

|Bad |Worse |Worst |

|Good |Better |Best |

|Far (place & time) |Further |Furthest |

|Far (place) |Farther |Farthest |

|Old (people) |Elder |Eldest |

|Little (amount) |Less |Least |

|Late (order) |Latter |Last |



Adverbs.

With LY adverbs (adverbs formed from adjectives by adding -ly to the end) we form the comparative and superlative forms with more and most.

|Adjective |Adverb |Comparative Adverb |Superlative Adverb |

|quiet |quietly |more quietly |most quietly |

|careful |carefully |more carefully |most carefully |

|happy |happily |more happily |most happily |

• Jeff works more quietly than Steve does.

• Jeff works the most quietly of all the students.

• Mary drives more carefully than John does.

• Of the three drivers, Mary drives the most carefully.

• Steve works more happily than he used to.

• Mary sings the most happily of all the girls in the group.

Other Adverbs.

For adverbs which retain the same form as the adjective form, we add -er to form the comparative and -est to form the superlative.

|Adjective |Adverb |Comparative Adverb |Superlative Adverb |

|hard |hard |harder |hardest |

|fast |fast |faster |fastest |

|early |early |earlier |earliest |

• Please work harder.

• Steve works the hardest.

• Mary runs faster than John does.

• Mary runs the fastest of all the runners on the team.

• Steve gets to work earlier than I do.

• Steve gets to work the earliest of all.

Irregular Adverbs.

|Adjective |Adverb |Comparative Adverb |Superlative Adverb |

|good |well |better |best |

|bad |badly |worse |worst |

|far |far |farther/further |farthest/furthest |

• John plays tennis better than Jack does.

• On our tennis team, John plays tennis the best.

• I did worse on the test than Bart did.

• On that test, I did the worst in the class.

• My paper airplane flew farther than yours did.

• My paper airplane flew the farthest of all.



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