Comparatives

A. Some rules about forming comparatives and superlatives

One syllable adjectives generally form the comparative by adding -er and the superlative by adding -est, e.g.

Adjective Comparative Superlative

soft softer the softest

cheap cheaper the cheapest

sweet sweeter the sweetest

thin thinner the thinnest

● Note that if a one-syllable adjective ends in a single vowel letter followed by a single consonant letter, the
consonant letter is doubled, e.g. thin - thinner/thinnest, big - bigger/biggest.
● If an adjective ends in -e, this is removed when adding -er/-est, e.g. wide - wider/widest.
● If an adjective ends in a consonant followed by -y, -yis replaced by -iwhen adding -er/-est, e.g. dry -
drier/driest.

Structures

To a greater/higher degree:

● London is bigger than Pavia

● She is more beautiful than before

To the same degree:

● Traffic in Rome is as bad as in New York

● Both teams are equally bad.

To a lower degree:

● The food here is not as/so good as before

● Paris is not such a good city as it was in the 1980s
● That is not such a great idea
More and most are sometimes used with one-syllable adjectives as an alternative to the -er/-est form when
we particularly want to emphasize the comparison, or if the adjective occurs with another adjective which has
more than one syllable, e.g.

The icing was supposed to be pink and white, but it looked more red than pink.
That sofa might look nice, but this one is more soft and comfortable.

Adjective Comparative Superlative

lucky luckier the luckiest

pretty prettier the prettiest

tidy tidier the tidiest

Two-syllable adjectives which end in -y usually form the comparative by adding -er and the superlative by
adding -est, (note the change of -y to-i in the comparative/superlative).

  

Adjective Comparative Superlative

worried more worried the most worried

boring more boring the most boring

careful more careful the most careful

useless more useless the most useless

The only exceptions are some three-syllable adjectives which have been formed by adding the prefix un- to
another adjective, especially those formed from an adjective ending in-y. These adjectives can form
comparatives and superlatives by using more/most or adding -er/-est.

Adjective Comparative Superlative

unhappy unhappier the unhappiest/most unhappy

unfriendly unfriendlier the unfriendliest/most unfriendly

Modifying comparisons

To express a big difference:

● A great deal, (quite) a lot, considerably, far, (very) much + comparative

● By far, easily + superlative
● Nothing like, nowhere near as…as, not nearly
● Just about + superlative

To express a small difference:

● A bit, barely, hardly any, a little, scarcely (any), slightly, somewhat + comparative
● Nearly, not quite as … as, much the same as

So/such; too/enough (result)

So + adjective + that-clause

● The food was so good that he ordered more

Such a + adjective + noun + that-clause

● They were having such a good time that they decided not to go home

Too + adjective (+for) + to-infinitive

● It was too cold to have a barbecue

(not) + adjective + enough (+for) + to-infinitive

● It wasn’t warm enough to go to the beach

Other forms of comparison

Repetition to emphasise increase or decrease:

● The work is getting harder and harder

The…the to say how a change in one thing affects something else

● The more I study, the more I relax

To contrast two similar qualities

● His jokes were more strange than funny

● His dad was not so much angry as relieved

As/like

Like + noun means similar to

● She looks like a film star

As + name of job means role/function

● They work as tutors at the university