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Comparatives and Superlatives

The document discusses how to form comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs in English. For adjectives, -er and -est are usually added to one-syllable words. Exceptions include words ending in e, vowels followed by consonants, and words ending in y. Two-syllable words and those with three or more syllables typically use 'more' and 'most'. Irregular adjectives like good, bad, little are also noted. Superlative adjectives indicate the highest or lowest on a scale. Comparative and superlative adverbs follow similar formation rules. The use of so, such, enough and too to indicate degrees is also explained.

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Arev Kirakosyan
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89 views

Comparatives and Superlatives

The document discusses how to form comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs in English. For adjectives, -er and -est are usually added to one-syllable words. Exceptions include words ending in e, vowels followed by consonants, and words ending in y. Two-syllable words and those with three or more syllables typically use 'more' and 'most'. Irregular adjectives like good, bad, little are also noted. Superlative adjectives indicate the highest or lowest on a scale. Comparative and superlative adverbs follow similar formation rules. The use of so, such, enough and too to indicate degrees is also explained.

Uploaded by

Arev Kirakosyan
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© © All Rights Reserved
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COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES

Comparative and superlative adjectives

How to form comparative and superlative


adjectives
We usually add –er and –est to one-syllable words to make comparatives
and superlatives:

old older oldest

long longer longest

If an adjective ends in –e, we add –r or –st:

nice nicer nicest

large larger largest

If an adjective ends in a vowel and a consonant, we double the


consonant:

big bigger biggest


fat fatter fattest

If an adjective ends in a consonant and –y, we change –y to –i and add –


er or –est:

happy happier happiest

silly sillier silliest

We use more and most to make comparatives and superlatives for most two


syllable adjectives and for all adjectives with three or more syllables:

careful more careful  most careful

interesting more interesting  most interesting

However, with these common two-syllable adjectives, you


can either add –er/–r and –est/–st or use more and most:
common narrow
cruel pleasant
gentle polite
handsome simple
likely stupid

She is one of the politest people I have ever met.


She is the most polite person I have ever met.

IRREGULAR ADJECTIVES

Good Better Best

Bad worse worst

Far farther/further  farthest/furthest

Little less least

Much/Many more most

There is a special use of OLD to describe family members that has an


irregular form:

This is my elder sister.

Jane is their eldest daughter.


Comparative adjectives

Noun (subject) + verb + comparative adjective + than + noun


(object).
 We use comparative adjectives to show
change or make comparisons:
This car is certainly better,  but it's much more expensive.
I'm feeling happier  now.
 We use than  when we want to compare one thing with another:
She is two years older than  me.
New York is much bigger than  Boston.
 When we want to describe how something or someone
changes we can use two comparatives with and:
Everything is getting more and more expensive.
Grandmother is looking older and older. 
 We often use The with comparative adjectives to show that one
thing depends on another:
The higher  they climbed, the colder it got. 
(= When they climbed higher, it got colder.

Superlative adjectives
Superlative adjectives are used to describe an object which is at the
upper or lower limit of a quality .They are used in sentences where a
subject is compared to a group of objects.

Noun (subject) + verb + the + superlative adjective + noun (object).

My house is the largest one in our neighborhood.

This is the smallest box I've ever seen.


Comparative and superlative adverbs

How to form comparative and superlative adverbs


We make comparative and superlative adverbs using the same rules as
for comparative and superlative adjectives. For example:

One syllable: fast > faster > fastest

One syllable ending in –e: 


> later > latest
late

Two or more syllables: more most


> >
quickly quickly quickly

IRREGULAR ADJECTIVES

Badly Worse Worst

Early Earlier Earliest

Far Farther/further Farthest/furthest

Fast Faster Fastest


Hard Harder
Hardest
Late Later
Latest
Often More often
Most often
Near Nearer
Nearest
Soon Sooner
Soonest
Well Better
Best

Comparative adverbs
 We can use comparative adverbs to show change or make
comparisons:

She began to speak more quickly.


They are working harder  now.

 We often use than  with comparative adverbs:


I forget things more often than  I used to.
Girls usually work harder than  boys.

 We use these words and phrases as intensifiers with comparatives:

Much Far a lot quite a lot

A great deal A good deal a good bit a fair bit

I forget things much  more often nowadays.


We use these words and phrases as mitigators:

a bit  slightly rather

a little a little bit just a little bit

She began to speak a bit  more quickly.

Superlative adverbs
 We can use superlative adverbs to make comparisons:
It rains  most often  at the beginning of the year.

 We use these words and phrases as intensifiers with superlatives:

easily by far much

When we intensify a superlative adverb, we often put the in front of the


adverb:
In our office, Jill works  by far the hardest.
So, Such, Enough, Too
 Meaning and use
We use so, such, enough and too to indicate degree. So and such give emphasis and
mean ‘very’. Too means more than necessary, and enough indicates the right amount
of something.

 It’s so cold today!

That’s such a pretty dress!

£150! That’s much too expensive for a pair of shoes.

We’ll have to buy a bigger car. This one’s not big enough for all of us.

 We can also use so and too with much and many to talk about the amount of


something. So much/many means a lot of something. Too much/many means
more than we want or need of something.

I’ve got so much work to do tonight.

FORM
 So+adjective+that

So+adverb+that

So+many/much+noun+that

 Such+a/an+adjective+singular noun+that
Such+adjective+plural noun+that
Such a lot of +noun+that
 Enough+noun
Adjective+enough
Adverb+enough
 Too+adjective
Too+adverb
Too+many/much+noun

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