Comparative and superlative adjectives

Form of comparatives and superlatives

a. Short adjectives
We use er for the comparative
and est for the superlative of
one-syllable adjectives (according to
pronunciation)

ADJECTIVE COMPARATIVE - SUPERLATIVE

Small
Cheap

smaller
younger
nicer

Nice

smallest
cheapest
youngest

There are changes in spelling when we add er / -est to adjectives. Example: big bigger

b. Longer adjectives
ADJECTIVE - COMPARATIVE - SUPERLATIVE
Adjectives of three or more syllables
take more in the comparative and
most in the superlative.

Expensive
/k'spensv/
Interesting
/'ntrst/

more expensive

Two-syllable adjectives ending in a

consonant+-y, change y to i and
Add er / -est

Funny
/'fni/
Easy
/'i:zi/

funnier

A few other two-syllable adjectives

also take er / -est: quiet, clever,
simple, narrow, gentle.

Quiet
/'kwat/
Clever
/'klevr /

quieter

Most other two-syllable adjectives

take more / most.

Boring
/'b:r/
Modern
/'m:drn /

more boring

Polite

politer
more polite

Some two-syllable adjectives can

take either er/-est or more/most:
polite, common, pleasant, stupid

the most expensive

the most interesting

the easiest

the cleverest

the most modern

/p'lat/
Common
more common
/'k:mn / || /'kmn/

the politest
the most polite
the commonest
the most common

c. Irregular comparatives and superlatives

ADJECTIVE - COMPARATIVE - SUPERLATIVE
The adjectives good, bad, far and
old have irregular comparatives
and superlatives

Good
Bad
Far
Old

Little and much / many also have

irregular forms.

Little
Much / many

better
the best
worse
the worst
farther
the farthest
further
the furthest
older
the oldest
elder
the eldest
(family relationships)
less
more

the least
the most

Practice Stage
1 . Write sentences. Use the COMPARATIVE form of the adjectives and THAN
e.g. Liam / tall / Helen. Liam is taller than Helen.
1. I / lazy / my brother.
2. Tom / confident / Karen
3. Simon / impatient / his sister
4. August / hot / May
5. My mum / funny / my dad.

2. Complete with the COMPARATIVE OR THE SUPERLATIVE

1. A car is.................................................... (expensive) a bicycle.
2. Tokyo is............................................ (large) city .............the world.
3. An elephant is ............................................ (heavy) a horse.
4. Spain is ............................................ (big) England.
5. My car is............................................ (bad) your car.
6.An aeroplane is ............................................ (fast) ..........a plane.
7. This exam is ............................................ (difficult) ............. all
8. Old people are ...................................................... (intelligent) young people.
9. Winter is ......................................................... (cold) autumn.

10. Germany is .................................................... (far) from home .............. France.

11. I've got ..........................(little) money ............. you but I don't mind.
12. Chinese is ...........................................(difficult) language ......... the world.
13. The pink sweater is ............................................. (warm) the green one.
14. Cats are not ........................................... (intelligent) ............. dogs.
15. Who is..................................................... (talkative) person in the class?

Production Stage.

1. Create 5 sentence using Comparative adjectives to compare these two singers.

For example : Handsome
Better

1) Zayn is more handsome than Bruno Mars.

2) Bruno Mars is a better than Zayn Malik.

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

2. State which
one of the singer
is the best by
creating three
more sentences
using Superlative
adjectives.
Example :
Bruno Mars is
the best singer in
the world.
1)
2)

Suggestions

If I could do things differently, I would incorporate a lot of visual aids in the form of pictures and
powerpoint presentation to help students understand parts of the lesson they cant grasp. Then, if I
really had to use their native language, I will limit it to just explaining the grammar. Other wise, any
examples or explanation will be strictly done in the target language. In order to do so, I will
dependent heavily on visual and body language to promote students.
Example of visual aids :