Comparative Adjectives

Related Topics:
Superlative Adjectives
More English Lessons



 

We use comparative adjectives to describe and compare two nouns or pronouns. We use superlative adjectives to describe and compare three or more nouns or pronouns.

In these lessons, we will learn the rules to make an adjective into a comparative adjective.

The following table gives the general Rules for Comparative Adjectives (there are some exceptions). Scroll down the page for more examples and explanations.

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 consonant-vowel-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

Exceptions: There are some adjectives that have irregular comparative forms.

Examples:

	Comparative
good	better
bad	worse
many	more
much	more
little	less
far	farther

How to use comparative adjectives?

• Show Step-by-step Explanations

How to compare two things in English, using adjectives
The following video cover the rules of comparative adjectives

• Show Step-by-step Explanations

How to form comparative and superlative adjectives?
This video shows the following:
For one syllable words we form the comparative and the superlative by adding "er" and "est" to the end of the word.

For two syllable words ending in "y" we change the "y" to "i" before adding "er" and "est".

For other adjectives with two or more syllables we put "more" before the comparative and "most" before the superlative. We use the word "than" for the comparative and the definite article for the superlative.

There are a few exceptions to these rules. Good and well have the same comparative and superlative forms. The comparison for bad is worse and the superlative is worst. Much and many have the same comparative and superlative forms.

• Show Step-by-step Explanations

Forming And Spelling Comparative Adjectives

• Show Step-by-step Explanations

Popular Ways We Use Comparative Adjectives
Learn several important and popular ways to use comparative adjectives in English.

• Show Step-by-step Explanations

Superlative Adjectives
This is a grammar lesson on superlative adjectives. It covers comparison of 3 or more people or things.

• Show Step-by-step Explanations

Comparative and superlative adjectives
It focuses on exceptions to the regular grammatical rules.

• Show Step-by-step Explanations

Rotate to landscape screen format on a mobile phone or small tablet to use the Mathway widget, a free math problem solver that answers your questions with step-by-step explanations.

We welcome your feedback, comments and questions about this site or page. Please submit your feedback or enquiries via our Feedback page.