Group conversations #1: Irregular verbs: arise – blow



Comparative and superlative adjectives

Comparative and superlative adjectives are used to describe people and things and how they are similar or different from other people and things.

Comparative adjectives compare one person or thing to another person or thing (one to one), while superlative adjectives compare one person or thing to all other people or things in that group.

For comparative adjectives, the rules for conjugation are as follows:

• If the adjective is one syllable long, add –er to the end of the adjective. If it has a vowel + consonant ending, double the consonant.

Today is colder than yesterday.

Tomorrow will be warmer than today.

Canada is bigger than Vietnam.

• If the adjective ends in a –y, remove the –y and add –ier to the end of the adjective.

Penelope is prettier than Susan.

Is it just me, or is Damian busier than ever?

The only person lazier than my brother is my father.

• If the adjective is two or more syllables long, add more (or less) before the adjective.

Outback Steakhouse is more expensive than McDonald’s.

People who grow up in isolated cultures tend to be less tolerant than others.

The exam was more difficult than I thought.

For superlative adjectives, the rules for conjugation are as follows:

• If the adjective is one syllable long, add the before the adjective, and add –est to the end of the adjective. If the syllable ends in vowel + consonant, double the consonant.

2020 was the hottest year on record.

Mt. Everest is the highest mountain in the world.

That’s the longest film I’ve seen this year.

• If the adjective ends in a –y, add the before the adjective, remove the –y and add –iest to the end of the adjective.

Isn’t she the prettiest woman you’ve ever seen?

Be careful entering that canyon, because it’s the windiest canyon in the entire hike.

Jeff Bezos is the wealthiest man in the world.

• If the adjective is two or more syllables long, add the most (or the least) before the adjective.

Lamborghinis are the most popular sports cars in the world.

The Mona Lisa is probably the most famous portrait in history.

That guy is the least attentive student in the class.

There are exceptions to the conjugation rules for the adjectives good, bad, far, and fun.

Good > Better > The best

Bad > Worse > The worst

Far > Farther/Further > The farthest/The furthest

Fun > More/Less Fun > The most/least fun

There are further rules and considerations when using comparatives and superlatives:

• Notice that we use than when we want to compare one thing with another:

She is two years older than me.

New York is much bigger than Boston.

He is a better player than Ronaldo.

France is a bigger country than Britain.

• When we want to describe how something or someone changes we can use two comparatives with and:

The balloon got bigger and bigger.

Everything is getting more and more expensive.

Grandfather is looking older and thinner.

My friend is becoming stronger and faster with his training.

• We often use the with comparative adjectives to show that one thing depends on another:

When you drive faster it is more dangerous (= The faster you drive, the more dangerous it is.)

When they climbed higher it got colder (= The higher they climbed, the colder it got.)

• Another way of using the comparative is to use not as ... as. When you use this form, the adjective is unchanged.

Your apartment is not as big as mine.

Her job is not as easy as it looks.

Class today will not be as simple as yesterday.

Jerome is not as rich as he used to be.

• However, if you want to say that the two nouns are the same, you may use as ... as. When you use this form, the adjective is unchanged.

My new house is as big as my old one.

Tommy is as fast as lightning.

Cats are as intelligent as dogs.

Anne is as tall as Jordan.

• If you want to say that there is a negative excess of something, you can use too many, too much, or too [adjective]. This means that there is an amount or quality of something that is bad or intolerable for the speaker.

This class has too many students. We need to split it into two.

Please don’t put too much salt on the food. It will spoil the taste.

I don’t want to go outside. It’s too hot!

We don’t need more than one supervisor for the project. Remember, too many cooks spoil the soup!

• If there is a sufficient amount of something, use enough.

We don’t need any more practice. We have had enough.

There is not enough gasoline for a round trip. We’ll need to stop at a gas station.

Don’t tell him about his dad. He has enough problems already.

We don’t have enough time to do the research. We need more.

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