OBPG unit 70–90 FP.

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71 Comparative adjectives
1 Look at the way we compare things: � long adjectives (two syllables or more):
adjective comparative
famous more famous
difficult more difficult
careful more careful
expensive more expensive
� adjectives ending with -y:
happy happier
hungry hungrier
The Plaza Hotel is cheaper than the Excelsior. � irregular adjectives:
The Excelsior Hotel is bigger than the Plaza. good better
The Excelsior is more expensive than the bad worse
Plaza.
The Plaza Hotel is smaller than the Excelsior. (For more information, see Appendix 4,
page 245)
2 Cheaper and more expensive are comparative
adjectives. We form them like this: 3 To compare things, we use a comparative
adjective + than:
� short adjectives (one syllable): Tom is richer than Paul.
adjective comparative Paris is more beautiful than London.
old older My new car is better than my old one.
long longer
nice nicer
new newer
slow slower
fat fatter
hot hotter
big bigger

Practice
A Write the comparative form of these adjectives.
� cold colder 13 long
1 big 14 hungry
2 careful 15 nice
3 expensive 16 happy
4 good 17 difficult
5 fat 18 old
6 famous 19 beautiful
7 new 20 friendly
8 modern 21 hot
9 young 22 wonderful
10 cheap 23 bad
11 delicious 24 small
12 rich 25 sad
EE fr
FR
Gram
om

PAGE 154 • ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS to g mar

o!

Oxford Practice Grammar Basic PHOTOCOPIABLE © Oxford University Press

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EE fr
FR
Gram

om
to g mar
o!
B Write comparative sentences about the pictures using than and the words
in brackets ( ). Use the Present Simple.
� 1 2 3

4 5 6 7

� (be/tall) Tom is taller than Sam.

1 (be/cold)
2 (be/hungry)
3 (be/small)
4 (be/happy)
5 (be/young)
6 (be/rich)
7 (be/friendly)

C Look at the information about two boats, the Queen Anne and the King John.
BOATS LENGTH AREA TOP SPEED YEAR MADE PRICE
Queen Anne 14 metres 40 metres2 35 knots 2005 £9,000
King John 9 metres 23 metres2 30 knots 1997 £3,500

Now put words from the box in the sentences.

King John (x2) bigger slower is than

Queen Anne (x2) longer expensive more

� The Queen Anne is bigger than the King John.

1 The King John is smaller the Queen Anne.
2 The Queen Anne is modern than the King John.
3 The King John older than the Queen Anne.
4 The is faster than the .
5 The Queen Anne is more than the King John.
6 The King John is than the Queen Anne.
7 The is cheaper than the .
8 The Queen Anne is than the King John.

ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS • PAGE 155

Oxford Practice Grammar Basic PHOTOCOPIABLE © Oxford University Press

 Grammar videos: Comparative and superlative adjectives – exercises

Watch the video and read the conversation between

Sophie and Giovanni. Then do these exercises to
check your understanding of comparative and
superlative adjectives.

1. Check your grammar: true or false – comparatives and superlatives

Are these sentences True or False?

1. To compare two things, we add -er to many adjectives. True False

2. We add -est to make the superlative form of many adjectives. True False

3. We never change the spelling of the adjective before adding -er / -est. True False

4. We often use "than" after a comparative. True False

5. We often use "the" before a superlative. True False

6. With longer adjectives, we use "more" + adjective or "most" + adjective. True False

7. There are a lot of irregular comparatives and superlatives. True False

2. Check your grammar: gap fill writing – comparatives and superlatives

Write the words to fill the gaps. Use comparatives and superlatives.

1. The clothes here are _______________________ (good) than in my town.

2. That’s my _______________________ (bad) mark ever!

3. It’s _______________________ (far) than I thought – I think we’re lost.

4. That’s the _______________________ (disgusting) meal I’ve ever had!

5. I hope your team’s _______________________ (lucky) today than last week.

6. They’re _______________________ (happy) in their new school than in their old one.

7. It’s the _______________________ (good) song on the album.

8. Your spaghetti sauce is _______________________ (tasty) than my mum’s.

3. Check your grammar: multiple choice – comparatives and superlatives
Circle the correct sentence.

1. a. The more amazing thing just happened to me!

b. The most amazing thing just happened to me!
c. The amazingest thing just happened to me!

2. a. He’s a lot taller than you.

b. He’s a lot taller you.
c. He's a lot taller from you.

3. a. She’s worst than me at maths.

b. She’s worse than me at maths.
c. She’s more bad than me at maths.

4. a. He’s the most good in the team at goal scoring.

b. He’s the best in the team at goal scoring.
c. He’s best in the team at goal scoring.

5. a. This pizza isn’t as good as Alfie’s.

b. This pizza isn’t as good Alfie’s.
c. This pizza isn’t as best Alfie’s.

6. a. It’s frighteninger if you look down.

b. It’s more frightening if you look down.
c. It’s the frightening if you look down.

7. a. Where’s the most cheap place to eat?

b. Where’s the more cheap place to eat?
c. Where’s the cheapest place to eat?

8. a. I’ve been running a lot. I think I’m faster now.

b. I’ve been running a lot. I think I’m more fast now.
c. I’ve been running a lot. I think I’m more faster now.

Discussion

Which meal do you think is tastier, fish and chips or pizza? Where do you get the best pizza where you
live?
COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES (MULTIPLE CHOICE)

Choose the correct answer.

1.- Santander is ____________ Sevilla.
a.- wetter than b.- more wet than c.- the wettest
2.- Juan is _____________ Mary.
a.- more happy than b.- happier than c.- happyier than
3.- The sun is _____________ the moon.
a.- hoter than b.- more hot than c.- hotter than
4.- I’m ______________ in this class.
a.- the shortest b.- the shorter c.- the shorttest
5.- He went to bed _____________ she did.
a.- early than b.- earlier than c.- more early than
6.- Luisa´s work is _______________ mine.
a.- gooder than b.- better than c.- the best
7.- Dogs are ____________ cats.
a.- the friendliest b.- more friendly than c.- friendlier than
8.- My English homework was _____________ yours.
a.- worst than b.- worse than c.- badder than
9.- I can swim _____________ my brother.
a.- more fast than b.- the fastest c.- faster than
10.- Please give me ______________ box.
a.- the smallests b.- the smaller c.- the smallest
11.- This is the most comfortable room ___________ the house.
a.- at b.- in c.- of
12.- _______________ tourist destination in the world is Paris.
a.- the more popular b.- the most popular c.- the popular
13.- I think English is ________________ Latin.
a.- more interesting than b.- the most interesting c.- interestinger than
14.- ______________ thing in my wardrobe is my jacket.
a.- the more expensive b.- the most expensive c.- more expensive than
15.- Your eyes are _____________ my eyes.
a.- more blue than b.- bluer than c.- bluer than
16.- Mount Everest is the highest mountain ____________ world.
a.- of b.- at c.- in
17.- ________________ football team in Europe is Real Madrid.
a.- the more successful b.- the most successful c.-more successful than
18.- The North is _______________ South.
a.- the richest b.- richer than c.- richer that
19.- Mr Isla is _____________ youngest teacher in the school.
a.- than b.- more c.- the
20.- Don’t read that book. It’s _____________ interesting book I’ve ever read.
a.- more b.- the least c.- less
21.- Peter has more free time than I. He is _______________.
a.- busier than b.- as busy as c.- not as busy as
22.-The big chair is the cheapest chair in the shop. It is _________ expensive chair.
a.- the most b.- the less c.- the least
23.- Juan and Patricia are not the same height. Juan is _____________ Patricia.
a.- not as tall b.- not tall c.- not as tall as