Comparative and Superlative Adjectives in English

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Forming Comparative Adjectives

The comparative form of an adjective is used to compare two things.

Rules for Forming Comparative Adjectives

• One syllable adjectives: Add "-er" (e.g., faster, bigger).
• One syllable adjectives ending in consonant-vowel-consonant: Double the final consonant and add "-er" (e.g., sad - sadder).
• One or two syllable adjectives: Add "-ier" (e.g., easy - easier).
• Two or more syllable adjectives: Use "more" before the adjective (e.g., expensive - more expensive).
• Irregular adjectives: These adjectives have unique comparative forms (e.g., good - better, bad - worse).

Forming Superlative Adjectives

The superlative form of an adjective is used to compare three or more things.

Rules for Forming Superlative Adjectives

• One syllable adjectives: Add "-est" (e.g., tallest, saddest).
• One syllable adjectives ending in consonant-vowel-consonant: Double the final consonant and add "-est" (e.g., big - biggest).
• One or two syllable adjectives: Add "-iest" (e.g., pretty - prettiest).
• Two or more syllable adjectives: Use "the most" before the adjective (e.g., handsome - the most handsome).
• Irregular adjectives: These adjectives have unique superlative forms (e.g., good - best, bad - worst).

Examples of Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Irregular Verbs - Past Simple

Here are some common irregular verbs in the past simple tense: