Comparatives and superlatives

We use comparatives to compare two things (⟦A car is faster than a bike.⟧) and superlatives to pick out one from a whole group (⟦The cheetah is the fastest animal.⟧). Short adjectives add ⟦-er⟧ and ⟦-est⟧; longer adjectives use ⟦more⟧ and ⟦most⟧.

Key facts

• Short adjectives: add ⟦-er⟧ / ⟦-est⟧: ⟦tall, taller, the tallest⟧. Ending in ⟦e⟧: add ⟦-r⟧ / ⟦-st⟧: ⟦large, larger, the largest⟧.
• One vowel then one consonant at the end: double it: ⟦big, bigger, the biggest⟧; ⟦hot, hotter, the hottest⟧.
• A consonant then ⟦y⟧: change ⟦y⟧ to ⟦i⟧: ⟦happy, happier, the happiest⟧; ⟦easy, easier, the easiest⟧.
• Longer adjectives use ⟦more⟧ / ⟦most⟧: ⟦beautiful, more beautiful, the most beautiful⟧. Never use both: not ⟦more bigger⟧.
• Irregular: ⟦good, better, best⟧; ⟦bad, worse, worst⟧; ⟦far, further, furthest⟧ (or ⟦farther, farthest⟧).
• Comparatives often go with ⟦than⟧; superlatives with ⟦the⟧ and often ⟦in⟧ or ⟦of⟧: ⟦the tallest in the class⟧.

Worked examples