Irregular Adjectives

A small number of adjectives are irregular in the way they make comparative and superlative
forms.
The normal (regular) way to make comparative and superlative adjectives is to add -er/-est or
use more/most, like this:

big bigger biggest

expensive more expensive most expensive

adjective

comparative

superlative

good

better

the best

well(healthy)

better

the best

bad

worse

the worst

far

further

the furthest

farther

the farthest

old(people in a family)

elder

the eldest

old(general use)

older

the oldest

Rules for Comparative Adjectives

Rule 1: When an adjective consists of one syllable add er to the end to

make it a comparative adjective.
Examples:
Comparative
clean

cleaner

dark

darker

thick

thicker

soft

softer

warm

warmer

neat

neater

broad

broader

tall

taller

old

older

Exception to Rule 1: If the one syllable adjective ends with a consonantvowel-consonant we need to double the last consonant before adding
the er. However, if the last consonant is a w then we follow rule 1 instead.
Examples:
Comparative
big

bigger

dim

dimmer

fat

fatter

fit

fitter

flat

flatter

few

fewer

slow

slower

low

lower

Rule 2: When a two syllable adjective ends with y we need to replace

the y with an i and then add the er.
Examples:
Comparative
busy

busier

dirty

dirtier

easy

easier

funny

funnier

noisy

noisier

happy

happier

heavy

heavier

lovely

lovelier

Rule 3: For an adjective with two or more syllabus (that does not end
with y), we use add the word more or less in front of the adjective.
Examples:

Comparative
active

more active, less active

careless

more careless. less

careless

famous

more famous. Less famous

cheerful

more cheerful, less

cheerful

beautiful

more beautiful, less

beautiful

generous

more generous, less

generous

intelligent

more intelligent, less

intelligent

valuable

more valuable, less

valuable

FORMING THE SUPERLATIVE

Form
Words of one syllable ending in 'e'.

Rule
Add -st to the end of
the word.

For example
wide - widest

The Amazon River is the widest river in the world.

Words of one syllable, with one

Double the consonant

vowel and one consonant at the

and add -est to the

end.

end of the word.

big - biggest

In 2010 a dog called Giant George was given the title of the biggest dog in the world.
Words of one syllable, with more
than one vowel or more than one
consonant at the end.

Add - est to the end of

the word.

high - highest

Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the word. (But it isn't the tallest mountain in
the world.)
Words of two syllables, ending in
'y'.

Change 'y' to 'i', and

add -est to the end of

happy - happiest

the word.

In 2013 Australia was named the happiest country in the world.

Words of two syllables or more, Place 'the most' before
not ending in 'y'.

the adjective.

beautiful - the most beautiful

Some people say that the Maldives have the most beautiful beaches in the world.