Grammar

Comparative and staperlatSw® adjectives

Use • Other two-syllable adjectives do not take -er or -est.

We use more/the most before the adjective instead:
• We use comparative adjectives to compare one
person, thing, place, etc. with another person, Adjective Comparative Superlative
thing, place, etc. careless more careless the most careless
° We use superlative adjectives to compare one handsome more handsome the most handsome
person, thing, place, etc. with a whole group of
people, things, places, etc. » With some two-syllable adjectives, both -erl-est
and m ore/the most are possible:
Form
Adjective Comparative Superlative
« T o form the comparative, we add -er to the
friendly friendlier/more the friendliest/the
adjective. We often use the word than after the
friendly most friendly
adjective:
Bill is taller (th a n John). simple simpler/more the simplest/the
simple most simple
° To form the superlative, we add the before the
adjective and -est to the adjective. We often use
Adjectives ending in -e
phrases beginning with o f or in after superlative
For adjectives ending in -e, we add -r to form the
adjectives:
comparative and -st to form the superlative.
Jan e is the y o u n gest o f the three sisters.
Bill is the tallest boy in the class. Adjective Comparative Superlative
• In some cases, we can omit the before close closer the closest
superlative adjectives: safe safer the safest
H er biggest fe a r is being left alone.
Adjectives ending in one vowel + one
One-syllable adjectives
con son an t
For most one-syllable adjectives, we add -er
to form the comparative and -est to form the ° For adjectives that end in one vowel + one
superlative: consonant, we double the consonant before
adding -er or -est:
Adjective Comparative Superlative
Adjective Comparative Superlative
cheap cheaper the cheapest
big bigger the biggest
fast faster the fastest
fat fatter the fattest
young younger the youngest
« Be careful: if there are two vowels before the
Two-syllable adjectives
consonant, we do not double the consonant:
« Some two-syllable adjectives form the
comparative and superlative with -er and -est. Adjective Comparative Superlative
cheap cheaper the cheapest
Adjective Comparative Superlative
great greater the greatest
busy busier the busiest
narrow narrower the narrowest

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Adjectives ending in -y older/elder, oldest/eldest

For adjectives that end in -y, we change the -y to
-i before adding -er/-est: • Old has two comparative and superlative forms:
older/oldest and elder/eldest. We use elder/eldest
Adjective Comparative Superlative for family members:
angry angrier the angriest D avid’s elder son is studying law at Harvard.
busy busier the busiest « We cannot use than with elder.
H e is elder than me. X
Longer adjectives H e is older than me. S
To form the comparative and superlative of
adjectives with three or more syllables, we use Determiners
more/the most:
• Note the comparative and superlative forms of
Adjective Comparative Superlative the determiners below:
expensive more expensive the most expensive
Determiner Comparative Superlative
intelligent more intelligent the most intelligent
many more the most
Adjectives ending in -ed, -ing, -ful and -less much more the most
Adjectives that end in -ed, -ing, -ful and -less do
not take -er or -est. We use more/the most instead: little less the least

Adjective Comparative Superlative ‘How much did you spend?’ ‘More than you did!’
boring more boring the most boring We know little about his parents and less about
his younger brother.
careless more careless the most careless
forgetful more forgetful the most forgetful
less (than), the least
worried more worried the most worried
We can use less + adjective (+ than) and the
Irregular adjectives least + adjective (+ of/in/etc.) to make negative
These adjectives are irregular: comparisons:
This film was less successful (than original).
Adjective Comparative Superlative It was the least successful o f all his films.
bad worse the worst
far farther/further the farthest/ far/much/a lot + comparative
furthest We use far, much or a lot before a comparative
good better the best adjective for emphasis. There is little difference
in meaning, although fa r is often stronger:
old older/elder the oldest/eldest
Bill is far/much/a lot richer than Tom.

farther/further, farthest/furthest the + comparative, the + comparative

• Far has two comparative and superlative forms: The structure the + comparative, the +
farther/farthest and further/furthest. We use comparative can be used to show that things
them to talk about distances: change or vary together:
Chris swam to the farther end o f the lake. The older I get, the more forgetful I become.
Jennie sat at the further end o f the room.
« Further can also mean ‘more’ or ‘extra’. We For more comparative structures, see ^
cannot use farther in the same way:
For further information, please write to the
above address. (= more information)

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Q Complete the sentences. Use the comparative or superlative form of the

adjectives in the box. Add any other words necessary.
bad careful comfortable difficult far friendly good
happy hot intelligent lucky old (x2) simple suitable
0 This exercise is too easy. Can we try a (n ).. XCWT&.. fL'lf&SWl’t'... one?
1 She comes top in all the exams - she must b e .............. girl in the class.
2 The temperature in July reaches forty-four degrees; it’s .............. month o f the year.
3 You made too many mistakes, which is why you failed. You should b e ...............in
the future.
4 This pen’s not very good - I’d like a ( n ) .............. one, please.
5 My wedding day w as.............. day of my life.
6 Lying down in bed i s .............. sitting on a hard chair.
7 Our youngest son doesn’t want to be a teacher, unlike h is .............. brother.
8 Now, before we continue, are there an y .............. questions?
9 I have a (n ).............. headache today than I did yesterday.
10 The rules of this game are too complicated - can we play som ething.............. ?
11 She’s .............. person I know. She’s always winning prizes in lotteries!
12 Don’t worry, my dog won’t bite you. He’s m uch...............you think - he loves people!
13 I wouldn’t wear jeans if I were you - a suit would b e .............. for the occasion.
14 That castle i s .............. building in our town; it’s more than 500 years old.

Q Complete the text. Use the comparative or superlative form of the adjectives in
brackets. Add any other words necessary.

Canada v. the USA Monday, 17 October

I've just got back from a tour of the USA and Canada. I used to think they were very
similar countries but I now realise they are very different. I think Canadians are
(0).m<?.*re..p<?J!te. (polite) and (1).............. (gentle) their southern neighbours. They are
generally (2).............. (modest) in their behaviour than the Americans who tend to be a
b it (3).............. (loud).
I used to think the USA was a (4)............(nice) place to live than Canada but I have
changed my mind. Even though the USA is a (5).............. (rich) nation than Canada,
the standard of living appears to be (6).............. (good) in Canada. The World Health
Organization ranks Canada (7).............. (high) the USA for its health service and Canadians
have a (8).............. (long) life expectancy than their American friends. However, things are
much (9).............. (cheap) in the USA.
The USA is one of (1°)...............(violent) countries in the world and I fe lt(11)................(safe)
on the streets of Toronto than in New York. The USA has a much (12>...............(bad) crime
rate than Canada. I had a (13).............. (pleasant) time in Canada. The people genuinely
C \
seemed to be (14>.............. (happy) and (1S)................ (relaxed). All in all, I think Canada is The best
one o f (16).............. (beautiful) countries in the world to visit and probably one of things in
(17).............. (good) to live in, too. life are free.
\_____ J

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