Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives are used to compare two things or people to each other. •A bus is bigger than a car. •Bill is older than Harry. Superlative adjectives are used to compare one member of a group to the whole group. We use the with a superlative adjective. •The Nile is the longest river in the world. •In our class Maria is the oldest and Charlie is the youngest.
FORMATION
Form	Adjective	Comparative	Superlative
One syllable :	long	longer than	the longest
(add : -er / -est)	nice	nicer than	the nicest
	hot	hotter than	the hottest
Two or more syllables :	famous	more famous than	the most famous
(add: more-less/most-least before the adjective)	interesting	less interesting than	the least interesting
	practical	more practical than	the most practical
Two syllables ending in -y :	funny	funnier than	the funniest
(the 'y' becomes 'i' before -er/-est)	easy	easier than	the easiest
	happy	happier than	the happiest
Irregular Adjectives :	good	better than	the best
	bad	worse than	the worst
	much/many	more than	the most
	little	less than	the least
	far	farther/further than	the farthest/furthest
N.B. :   Adjectives ending with a vowel and a consonant double the consonant big  -  bigger  -  biggest except when the consonant is 'w' or 'y' :  new - newer - newest.

Adjectives Part II

Adjectives Part I <-- click here 

4. Demonstrative Adjectives - These adjectives are used to point out or indicate a particular noun or pronoun using the adjectives - This, That, These andThose. 

o   That bag belongs to Neil. 

o   Try using this paintbrush in art class.

o   I really like those shoes.

o   These flowers are lovely. 

5. Interrogative Adjectives - These adjectives are used to ask questions about nouns or in relation to nouns, they are - Where, What, Which and Whose.

o   Where did he say he was going? 

o   What assignment did I miss out on?

o   Which is your favorite author?

o   Whose pen is this? 

In some instances, we find that we need to use more than one adjective to describe a noun in a satisfactory manner. In these cases, commas are used to separate the adjectives but some series of adjectives do not require a comma. Therefore, we need to know the difference between Coordinate and Non-coordinate Adjectives -

Adjectives Part I

Adjectives are words that are used to describe (what kind of?) nouns and pronouns and to quantify (how much of?) and identify (which one?) them. In a nutshell, Adjectives are what define nouns and give them characteristics to differentiate them from other nouns. For example:

He was wearing a blue shirt.

Here ‘blue’ is an adjective as it is describing the noun ‘shirt’ by answering the question ‘what kind of shirt?’

There are seven rooms in the house.

Here ‘Seven’ is also an adjective as it’s telling the quantity/the number of the noun ‘rooms’, answering the question ‘how many rooms?’. 

There are different types of adjectives based upon their effect on a noun and what do they tell about the noun. There are five categories of adjectives

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives compare two things. Superlative adjectives compare more than two things

Commonly, adjectives that contain only one syllable or end in 'y' use 'er' to form comparatives and 'est' to form superlatives. For adjectives ending in y, change the 'y' to 'i' before adding the 'er' or 'est'.

• old – older – oldest
• young – younger – youngest
• pretty – prettier – prettiest
• long – longer – longest
• short – shorter – shortest
• bright – brighter – brightest
• close – closer – closest
• happy – happier - happiest

Adjectives with two or more syllables do not change but instead add more to form comparatives and most to form superlatives.

• respectable – more respectable – most respectable
• beautiful – more beautiful – most beautiful
• preferable – more preferable – most preferable
• hardworking – more hardworking – most hardworking

Some adjectives have different forms of comparatives and superlatives.

• good – better – best
• bad – worse – worst
• little – less – least
• much (many) – more – most
• far – further - furthest

The word than typically appears in comparative sentences.

• Amy is smarter than Betty.
• Chad is stronger than Dan.
• Greg is more diligent than his brother.
• I have more apples than he.
• She likes him more than me.

Superlatives are typically accompanied by the word the.

• Tom is the oldest man in town.
• Paul is the tallest boy in the neighborhood.
• That shade of blue is the most beautiful color.
• This is the longest song that I have ever heard.

[Quiz 8.1]

Write the appropriate comparative or superlative form of the word cold in each blank.

Yesterday was a cold day. Today is                      than yesterday. Tomorrow will be the                      day yet. 

[Quiz 8.2]

Which of the following sentences is incorrect?

1) Mary is shorter than Jane.
2) The moon is more closer to the earth than the sun.
3) I have the best score on the exam.