Lesson 27: Comparatives & Superlatives

Comparatives: Comparing 2 Things

Basic Rules
Type of word Example Sentence
One-syllable words: -er faster, smarter, taller, My brother is taller than
older me.
Two-syllable words gentler, simpler This task is simpler than
ending in –le or –ow: -er narrower, shallower the last one.
Two-syllable words easier, luckier, friendlier, These earrings are
ending in -y: -ier prettier prettier than those.
All other 2-3+ syllable more difficult, more Actions are more
words: more important, more formal important than words.
Adverbs ending in ly: more slowly, more She types more carefully
more carefully, more quietly than he does.

We do have a few exceptions to these rules:

 often  more often (oftener)

 fun  more fun (funner)
 real  more real (realer)
 One-syllable past participle adjectives:
bored, pleased, worn  more pleased (pleaseder)
A few common adjectives have irregular forms:

 good/well  better
 bad/badly  worse
 far  farther
Avoid this common error! Don't say more faster, more better, more easier, etc.
It’s one or the other: -er for short words, more for longer words – but not both.

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Put it into practice!
Make the comparative form of each adjective using –er, -ier, or more.
1. The debate club is _______________ (active) than the chess club.
2. We live ________________ (close) to the subway than they do.
3. As the temperature changed, the glass got _______________ (foggy).
4. This computer is ______________ (modern) than mine.
5. The second movie was _________________ (long) than the first one.
6. Flowers are much _________________ (lovely) than bushes.
7. I was ___________________ (productive) today than I was yesterday.

Using “than”
When you compare two things in a sentence, we use the word than:

 An elephant is bigger than a horse.

 Your room is messier than mine.
 This painting is more colorful than that one.
Make sure to use than, not then when you write – although they are essentially
pronounced the same in spoken English.
We have two ways to finish the phrase after than. You can say:

 You’re taller than me.

 You’re taller than I am.
 He can run faster than her.
 He can run faster than she can.
 She works more than him.
 She works more than he does.
We use the subject form (I, she, he, we, they) when there is a verb after the word,
and we use the object form (me, her, him, us, them) when there is no verb after the
word. The verb afterwards can be a form of the verb to be, an auxiliary verb like can
or have, or the words do/does/did.

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With you and objects, there is no change:

 He was more interested than you.

 He was more interested than you were.
 The necklace costs more than the bracelet.
 The necklace costs more than the bracelet does.

Put it into practice!

1. They have more luggage than us / we do.
2. He can speak English better than them / they can.
3. You’re more qualified than I / me.
4. She participates more than he / him.
5. He’s friendlier than her / she is.

Equal, Less and Multiples

To say that one thing has less of a quality than another, we have two forms:

 slower = not as fast as

 less fast than
 cheaper = not as expensive as
 cheaper = less expensive than
Note that we can use not as… as with all comparatives; however, we can only use
less… than with the longer adjectives.
If two things are equal, then we use as… as or just as… as:

 The university has 20,000 students – it’s as big as a town!

 This restaurant is just as good as that one.
And for multiples of a quantity, we can say twice as… as… or five times as… as…:

 This car is twice as expensive as that one.

 This town has grown five times as much as that one.

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Four Additional Comparative Structures
1. Before comparatives, you can use these words to express the degree of
difference:

Small difference a bit / a little / slightly The beer is slightly more

expensive than the soda.
My sister’s a little older
than me.
Great difference a lot / much / far The wine is much more
expensive than the soda.
My brother’s a lot older
than me.

2. You can repeat comparatives to say that something is changing continuously:

 It’s becoming harder and harder to find a job these days.

 It’s becoming more and more difficult to find a job these days.
 Your English is getting better and better!
 More and more people are moving into the city nowadays.
3. The (comparative), the better – this structure means that we want a greater
level of that quality:

 We need this project done fast. The sooner, the better.

 I want big balloons for the party – the bigger, the better.
We can use a similar structure when one quality depends on another:

 The fancier the hotel, the more expensive it is.

 The more you practice, the easier it becomes.
4. We can use as many as / as much as / as few as / as little as to say that a
quantity or amount is surprisingly large or small:

 The software allows for as many as 10,000 users.

 There are as few as 100 speakers of that language remaining in the world.
We use many/few before numbers, and much/little before dollar amounts,
percentages, time, and distance:

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  As much as 30% of high school students drop out.
 You can learn how to do this in as little as two weeks.

Superlatives
We use superlatives when comparing three or more things, or when comparing one
thing to all other things.

Type of word Example Sentence

One-syllable words: -est largest, saddest, slowest
Two-syllable words gentlest, simplest
ending in –le or –ow: -est narrowest, shallowest
Two-syllable words craziest, tiniest, heaviest
ending in –y: -iest
All other 2-3+ syllable most interesting, most
words: most, least beautiful, most cautious,
least important, least
favorite
This is the largest street
fair in the city.
He’s the gentlest person I
know.
That was the craziest
thing I’ve ever done.
She’s the most beautiful
woman I’ve ever seen.
My least favorite subject
is history.

We typically don’t use least with the shorter words. Instead, we use the opposite
one:

 least slow = fastest

 least heavy = lightest
 least narrow = widest
The irregulars and exceptions are the same as with the comparatives:

 good  better  best

 bad  worse  worst
 far  farther  farthest
Avoid this common error! Remember that you must always use the with
superlatives, but never with comparatives:

 This is the most interesting book I’ve ever read.

This is most interesting book I’ve ever read.

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  This book is more interesting than that one.
This book is the more interesting than that one.
You can remember this because the superlative ends in –T: best, easiest, most
interesting – “t” for “the.”

What to use after superlatives

Use in for places and areas (physical areas or areas of influence):

 She’s the smartest student in the class.

of the class
 This is the largest stadium in the country.
 He’s the fastest runner in baseball.
Use of for a period of time:

 Yesterday was the hottest day of the year.

 Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
 This is the most influential idea of the decade.
 She’s the most famous singer of all time.
We also use of when naming the items:

 My cousin is the craziest of my relatives.

 This is the best one of the three.
 Out of all the designs, I liked this one the most.
From all the designs,
Finally, you can use the superlative with the present perfect for comparing
something to your past experience:

 It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

 This is the most advanced course I’ve ever taken.
 That was the most fun I've had since I was a kid.
 That’s the dumbest thing you’ve done ever since you spent your life savings
on lottery tickets.
If you use ever, then you are comparing it to your entire life. If you use “since,” then
you are saying it is the most intense thing since that previous experience.

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Put it into practice!
Answer these questions with the superlative:

 What's the best movie you've ever seen?

The best movie I’ve ever seen is…
 What's the biggest problem in the world today?
The biggest problem in the world today is…
 When was the happiest time of your childhood?
The happiest time of my childhood was…
 What's the most important thing to do when learning English?
When learning English, the most important thing is…

Summary
 Comparatives compare two things. Use -er and -ier for short words, and
more for longer words (there are some exceptions).
 You can use a comparative + than in two ways:
o You're taller than me.
o You're taller than I am.
 To say that one thing has less of a quality than another, use less (adjective)
than and not as (adjective) as.
 If two things are equal, use as... as or just as... as.
 To express a small degree of difference, use a bit / a little / slightly +
comparative
 To express a large degree of difference, use a lot / much / far + comparative
 Other special structures with comparatives include:
o Repeated for emphasis (harder and harder)
o The (comparative), the better: The bigger, the better.
o As many/much as or as few/little as for a surprisingly large or small
number or amount
 Use superlatives when comparing three or more things.
 THE + -est/-iest for shorter words, THE + most/least for longer words
 After a superlative, you can say:
o IN an area
o OF a period of time / set of items
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 o Present Perfect
You’ve finished Lesson 27! Now try the exercises for more practice with
comparative and superlative adjectives.

Writing Task
Think about two things to compare. Here are a few ideas. They can be…

 two places you’ve lived

 two friendships or relationships you’ve had
 two jobs or activities you’ve been involved in
 two bands or types of music
 two books or movies
 two products, companies, or brands
Write a text describing how the two things you’ve chosen compare to each other.
Use lots of comparative adjectives, as well as the words slightly / a little / far / much
/ etc. to describe the degree of the difference. Send me your text at
shayna@espressoenglish.net for feedback and correction!

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Quiz – Lesson 27
Exercise 1 - Put the correct verb into each sentence and use either the comparative or
the superlative. You will need to determine from the context of the sentence if it is
comparing two things, or more than two things.

bad fast pleasant shallow

concerned interesting powerful wealthy
far large recent

1. I don't care so much about the price; I'm ____________________________ about the
quality.
2. We don't particularly like traveling by bus. Taking the train is
____________________________- and it's ____________________________, too.
3. That was the ____________________________ performance I've ever seen - a total
waste of time and money.
4. This is the ____________________________issue of the magazine - it just arrived
today.
5. Germany is slightly ____________________________ than Poland.
6. He is a very successful businessman. In fact, he's the ____________________________
man in the country.
7. Which one of these courses do you think is the ____________________________?
8. Let's cross the river over here - this is the ____________________________ part.
9. When you reach the shopping mall, keep going - the stadium is just a few
miles ____________________________.
10. A car's engine is ____________________________than a motorcycle's.

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Exercise 2 - Write two comparative phrases using "not as... as" and the comparative:
Ex) metal / wood / strong
Metal is stronger than wood.
Wood is not as strong as metal.
1. a dog / an elephant / heavy

2. the pyramids / the Empire State Building / old

3. French fries / salad / nutritious

4. the sun / the moon / bright

5. a plastic cup / a wine glass / fragile

6. gold / silver / precious

7. Brazil's weather / England's weather / warm

8. a friendly person / a mean person / likeable

9. a lake / an ocean / deep

10. basic math / nuclear physics / complex

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Exercise 3 – Fill in the blanks with the superlative, and then choose IN or OF:
1. Our company has the __________________________ (advanced) technology in / of
the industry.
2. Christmas is the __________________________ (festive) day in / of the year.
3. Brian is the __________________________ (young) in / of my children.
4. This is the __________________________ (trendy) neighborhood in / of New York
City.
5. I thought you gave the __________________________ (good) presentation in / of the
day.
6. She's had many ridiculous ideas, but this is the __________________________ (crazy)
in / of them all.
7. My bedroom is the __________________________ (small) room in / of the house.
8. We ate at the __________________________ (popular) restaurant in / of the region.

Answers – Quiz – Lesson 27

Exercise 1
1. I don't care so much about the price; I'm more concerned about the quality.
2. We don't particularly like traveling by bus. Taking the train is more pleasant
- and it's faster, too.
3. That was the worst performance I've ever seen - a total waste of time and
money.
4. This is the most recent issue of the magazine - it just arrived today.
5. Germany is slightly larger than Poland.
6. He is a very successful businessman. In fact, he's the wealthiest man in the
country.
7. Which one of these courses do you think is the most interesting?
8. Let's cross the river over here - this is the shallowest part.
9. When you reach the shopping mall, keep going - the stadium is just a few
miles farther.
10. A car's engine is more powerful than a motorcycle's.

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Exercise 2
1. An elephant is heavier than a dog.
A dog is not as heavy as an elephant.
2. The pyramids are older than the Empire State Building.
The Empire State Building is not as old as the pyramids.
3. Salad is more nutritious than French fries.
French fries are not as nutritious as salad.
4. The sun is brighter than the moon.
The moon is not as bright as the sun.
5. A wine glass is more fragile than a plastic cup.
A plastic cup is not as fragile as a wine glass.
“Fragile” is an exception to the rule for 2-syllable words ending in –LE!
6. Gold is more precious than silver.
Silver is not as precious as gold.
7. Brazil’s weather is warmer than England’s weather.
England’s weather is not as warm as Brazil’s weather.
8. A friendly person is more likeable than a mean person.
A mean person is not as likeable as a friendly person.
9. An ocean is deeper than a lake.
A lake is not as deep as an ocean.
10. Nuclear physics is more complex than basic math.
Basic math is not as complex as nuclear physics.

Exercise 3
1. Our company has the most advanced technology in the industry.
2. Christmas is the most festive day of the year.
3. Brian is the youngest of my children.
4. This is the trendiest neighborhood in New York City.
5. I thought you gave the best presentation of the day.
6. She's had many ridiculous ideas, but this is the craziest of them all.
7. My bedroom is the smallest room in the house.
8. We ate at the most popular restaurant in the region.

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Answers – Exercises in Lesson
Make the comparative form of each adjective using –er, -ier, or more.
1. The debate club is more active than the chess club.
2. We live closer to the subway than they do.
3. As the temperature changed, the glass got foggier.
4. This computer is more modern than mine.
5. The second movie was longer than the first one.
6. Flowers are much lovelier than bushes.
7. I was more productive today than I was yesterday.

Choose the right form:

1. They have more luggage than we do.
2. He can speak English better than they can.
3. You’re more qualified than me.
4. She participates more than him.
5. He’s friendlier than she is.

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© Shayna Oliveira 2014