Comparatives

Of
Superiority
How many syllables?

When you compare two things, animals or persons and

you want to express superiority of one of them in the
characteristic you want to compare, you need to know
what a short and a long adjective are:

In order to know what a short adjective is,

you have to count the number of syllables
in an adjective or adverb. Remember that
a syllable is a single unit of written or
spoken word and it is made up of one or
more letters with a vowel sound at its
core.
Short adjectives
Adjective or adverb Syllables
Big Only one

Black Only one

Clean Only one
Cold Only one

Fast Only one

Full Only one
Busy Two
Dirty Two

Early Two
Easy Two
Happy Two

Narrow Two
Long adjectives
Adjective or adverb Syllables

Interesting 4 syllables

Dangerous 3 syllables

Difficult 3 syllables

Beautiful 3 syllables

Important 3 syllables

Expensive 3 syllables

Exciting 3 syllables

Historical 4 syllables

Relaxing 3 syllables
Comparison of superiority with short adjectives
Rule
When you compare two
things, animals or persons
and you want to express
superiority of one of them,
you must add –er to the
short adjectives (the
adjectives or adverbs that
have one or two syllables).
Examples
The weights I lift
are heavier than yours
This stadium is colder than
the Los Angeles stadium
Examples
Tom is stronger than
Jonathan
A horse is faster than a dog.
Characteristic Manny Pacquiao Juan Manuel Marquez
Nationality Philippine Mexican
Age 38 44
Height (cm) 166
. 170
Weight (pounds) 147 146
Rich (million of dollars) 500 100

Let’s compare two Boxers

Characteristic Question
Old Who is older Manny Pacquiao or
Juan Manuel Marquez?
Tall Who is taller Manny Pacquiao or
.
Juan Manuel Marquez?
Heavy Who is heavier Manny Pacquiao or
Juan Manuel Marquez?
Rich Who is richer Manny Pacquiao or
Juan Manuel Marquez?
Let’s see how you can compare them.
Comparison
Juan Manuel Marquez is older
than Manny Pacquiao
Juan Manuel Marquez is taller
than Manny Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao is heavier
than Juan Manuel Marquez
Manny Pacquiao is richer
than Juan Manuel Marquez
 Pay attention in the following situations

Clue Take note

When an adjective has only one syllable and
has this order “consonant-vowel-
consonant” the last consonant is doubled
As you notice you only add –er to in the comparative form, examples: big-
the short adjective to show bigger, fat-fatter, hot-hotter.
superiority in the characteristic
two-syllable adjectives that end in -y:
you are comparing. change the -y to –ier. Examples happy-
happier, busy- busier, dirty- dirtier, easy-
easier.
Adjective Comparative form
Good better than
Well better than
Bad worse than
Far farther than
Little less than
Few less than

Exceptions