superlatives and ives

8/3/2019 Superlatives and ives

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FormOne syllable adjectives

Comparative: add er (cheaper)

Superlative: add est (the cheapest)

One syllable adjectives ending in 'e'

Comparative: add r (nicer)

Superlative: add st (the nicest)

One syllable adjectives ending in consonant - vowel - consonant

Comparative: add consonant + er (hotter)

Superlative: add consonant + est (the hottest)

Two syllable adjectives ending in 'y'

Comparative: replace 'y' with ier (happier)Superlative: replace 'y' with iest (the happiest)

Two or more syllable adjectives

Comparative: add more / less (more / less beautiful)

Superlative: add the most / the least (the most / least beautiful)

Irregular adjectives

good - better - the best

bad - worse - the worst

far - further - the furthest

Functions and examplesWe use comparatives to compare two things.

John is thinner than Bob.

It's more expensive to travel by train than by bus.

My house is smaller than my friend's house.

We use superlatives to compare one thing with the rest of the group it belongs

to.

John is the tallest in the class.

He's the best football player in the team.

This is the most expensive hotel I've ever stayed in.

Important pointsWe do not use the with the superlative if there is a possessive.

His strongest point is his ambition.

We use as + adjective + as to say that two things are equal in some way.

He's as tall as me.

Jim's car is as fast as mine.


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We use not as to say that two things are not equal in some way.

He's not as tall as me.

Jim's car is not as fast as mine.

We can modify comparatives with much, a lot, far, a little, a bit, slightly.

Bob is much richer than I am.

My mother's hair is slightly longer than mine.

We can modify superlative with by far, easilyand nearly.

Mario's is by far the best restaurant in town.

I'm nearly the oldest in the class.

If the second part of a comparative or superlative sentence is clear from what

comes before or from the context, we can omit it.

Going by bus is very fast, but the train is more comfortable.

We can repeat comparatives to say that something is changing.

These exams are getting worse and worse every year.

She gets more and more beautiful every time I see her.

3. Activity: The people in the room

Using the people in the class is a logical place to start with comparatives. A simple activity isto put students into groups of four. Tell them to make as many true sentences as they cancomparing each other using the following phrases.

lives close to school; has big family; young

has been learning English long; gets up early; goes to bed late

Set a time limit. Then ask students to read out some of their sentences. E.g. Marta livescloser to the school than Juan and Pablo.

Comparatives and Superlatives

Exercise 1: Read the sentences below and then give the comparative form for

each of the adjectives listed.

Tennis is a more difficult sport than Rugby.

I think John is happier now than a year ago.

Could you open the window, please? It's getting hotter in this room by theminute.

interesting ___________

weak ___________

funny ___________

important ___________

careful ___________

big ___________

small ___________ polluted ___________


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boring ___________

angry ___________

Exercise 2: Read the sentences below and then give the superlative form foreach of the adjectives listed.

New York has got to be the most exciting city in the world.

His biggest desire is to return home.

She is probably the angriest person I know.

interesting ___________

weak ___________

funny ___________

important ___________

careful ___________

big ___________

small ___________

polluted ___________

boring ___________

angry ___________

Exercise three: Choose one of the topics below and think of three examplesfrom that topic - for example: Sports - football, basketball and surfing.Compare the three objects.

Cities

Sports

Writers

Films

Inventions Cars

Back toless

Introduction

Comparatives and Superlatives are special forms of adjectives. They are used

to compare two or more things. Generally, comparatives are formed using -

er and superlatives are formed using -est. This page will explain the rules for

forming regular comparatives and superlatives, and also show some basic

ways of using them.

1. Forming comparatives and superlatives

How these forms are created depends on how many syllables there are in

the adjective. Syllables are like sound beats. For instance, sing contains

one syllable, but singing contains two sing and ing. Here are the rules:

Adjective form Comparative Superlative
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Only one syllable,ending in E. Examples:wide, fine, cute

Add -r: wider, finer,cuter

Add -st: widest,finest, cutest

Only one syllable, withone vowel and oneconsonant at the end.Examples: hot, big, fat

Double theconsonant, and add -er: hotter, bigger,fatter

Double theconsonant, and add -est: hottest, biggest,fattest

Only one syllable, withmore than one vowelor more than oneconsonant at the end.Examples: light, neat,

fast

Add -er: lighter,neater, faster

Add -est: lightest,neatest, fastest

Two syllables, endinginY. Examples: happy,silly, lonely

Change y to i, thenadd -er: happier,sillier, lonelier

Change y to i, thenadd -est: happiest,silliest, loneliest

Two syllables or more,not ending inY.Examples: modern,interesting, beautiful

Use more beforethe adjective: moremodern, moreinteresting, more

beautiful

Use most beforethe adjective: mostmodern, mostinteresting, most

beautiful

2. How to use comparatives and superlatives

Comparatives

Comparatives are used to compare two things. Youcan use sentences with than, or you can use aconjunction like but.

Jiro is taller than Yukio.Yukio is tall, but Jiro is taller.

Superlatives

Superlatives are used to compare more than twothings. Superlative sentences usually use the,because there is only one superlative.

Masami is the tallest in the class.Yukio is tall, and Jiro is taller, but Masamiis the tallest.


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Forming Comparative andSuperlative Adjectives

One-syllable adjectives.Form the comparative and superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding er for

the comparative form and est for the superlative.

One-Syllable Adjective Comparative Form Superlative Form

tall taller tallest

old older oldest

long longer longest

Mary is tallerthan Max.

Mary is the tallestofall the students.

Max is olderthan John.

Ofthe three students, Max is the oldest.

My hair is longerthan your hair.

Max's story is the longeststory I've ever heard.

If the one-syllable adjective ends with an e, just add r for the comparative form and st

for the superlative form.

One-Syllable Adjective withFinal -e Comparative Form Superlative Form

large larger largest

wise wiser wisest

Mary's car is largerthan Max's car.

Mary's house is the tallestofall the houses on the block.

Max is wiserthan his brother.

Max is the wisestperson I know.

If the one-syllable adjective ends with a single consonant with a vowel before it, double

the consonant and add er for the comparative form; and double the consonant and add

est for the superlative form.

One-Syllable Adjective Ending with aSingle Consonant with a Single Vowelbefore It

ComparativeForm

Superlative Form

big bigger biggest

thin thinner thinnest

fat fatter fattest


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My dog is biggerthan your dog.

My dog is the biggestofall the dogs in the neighborhood.

Max is thinnerthan John.

Ofall the students in the class, Max is the thinnest.

My mother is fatterthan your mother.

Mary is the fattestperson I've ever seen.

Two-syllable adjectives.

With most two-syllable adjectives, you form the comparative with more and the

superlative with most.

Two-Syllable Adjective Comparative Form Superlative Form

peaceful more peaceful most peaceful

pleasant more pleasant most pleasant

careful more careful most careful

thoughtful more thoughtful most thoughtful

This morning is more peacefulthan yesterday morning.

Max's house in the mountains is the most peacefulin the world.

Max is more carefulthan Mike.

Ofall the taxi drivers, Jack is the most careful.

Jill is more thoughtfulthan your sister.

Mary is the most thoughtfulperson I've ever met.

If the two-syllable adjectives ends with y, change the yto iand add er for thecomparative form. For the superlative form change the yto i andadd est.

Two-Syllable Adjective Endingwith -y

Comparative Form Superlative Form

happy happier happiest

angry angrier angriest

busy busier busiest

John is happiertoday than he was yesterday.

John is the happiest boy in the world.

Max is angrierthan Mary.

Ofall of John's victims, Max is the angriest.

Mary is busierthan Max.

Mary is the busiestperson I've ever met.

Two-syllable adjectives ending in er, -le, or ow take er and est to form the

comparative and superlative forms.


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Two-Syllable Adjective Endingwith -er, -le, or -ow


narrow narrower narrowest

gentle gentler gentlest

The roads in this town are narrowerthan the roads in the city.

This road is the narrowestofall the roads in California.

Big dogs are gentlerthan small dogs.

Ofall the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.

Adjectives with three or more syllables.

For adjectives with three syllables or more, you form the comparative with more and the

superlative with most.

Adjective with Three or MoreSyllables


generous more generous most generous

important more important most important

intelligent more intelligent most intelligent

John is more generousthan Jack.

John is the most generousofall the people I know.

Health is more importantthan money.

Ofall the people I know, Max is the most important.

Women are more intelligentthan men.

Mary is the most intelligentperson I've ever met.

Exceptions.

Irregular adjectives.

Irregular Adjective Comparative Form Superlative Form

good better best

bad worse worst

far farther farthest

little less least

many more most

Italian food is betterthan American food.

My dog is the best dog in the world.

My mother's cooking is worsethan your mother's cooking.

Ofall the students in the class, Max is the worst.


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Two-syllable adjectives that follow two rules. These adjectives can be used with -er and

-est and with more and most.

Two-Syllable Adjective Comparative Form Superlative Form

clever cleverer cleverest

clever more clever most clever

gentle gentler gentlest

gentle more gentle most gentle

friendly friendlier friendliest

friendly more friendly most friendly

quiet quieter quietest

quiet more quiet most quiet

simple simpler simplest

simple more simple most simple

Big dogs are gentlerthan small dogs.

Ofall the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.

Big dogs are more gentlethan small dogs. Ofall the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the most gentle.

earn English - Grammar

egree modifiers with comparatives and superlatives

e cannot use very with comparatives. Instead we use other degree modifiers like much, far, very much, a lot, lots, any, no,ther, a little, a bit and even.

She is much older than her husband. (NOT very older than ...)

Is he any better?

Russian is much/far more difficult than Spanish.

You are no better than him.

Grammar Notes

Note that any, no, a bit and a lot are not normally used to modify comparatives before

nouns.


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There are much better shops in the city. (NOT a bit/a lot better )

Quite is not normally used with comparatives, but it is possible in the expression quitebetter, meaning recovered from an illness.

Superlatives can be modified by much and by far, and by other adverbs of degree suchas quite and almost.

She is by far the oldest in the firm.

He is quite the most stupid person I have ever met.

When more modifies a plural noun, it is modified by many.

many more opportunities

When more modifies a singular/uncountable noun, it is modified bymuch.

much more money

Posted on: 23 Apr, 2011, Post Subject: WORDS MODIFYING COMPARATIVES AND

SUPERLATIVESThere are some words modifying comparative and superlative forms of the adjectives and adverbs. Weuse these words to strenghten the meaning.Here are the ones modifying the comparatives:FAR / MUCH / MANY / A LOT / RATHER / EVEN / ANY / A BIT / A LITTLE / A FEW / SOME /CONSIDERABLY / REMARKABLY / SLIGHTLYHere are the ones modifying the superlative forms:BY FAR / QUITE / FAR AND AWAYEXAMPLES:

You said to me that your handwriting is a lot / much / far / rather betterthan mine, but it isn't anybetter. It'seven worse than mine.Could you please speak a bit / a little more loudly? I have difficulty hearing you.This restaurant is slightly more expensive than that one, but its service is remarkably / considerablybetter.We need some more chairs for the party. I think a few more people than we expected will come.He is by far the most knowledgable man I have ever met.She is far and away the most successful sales manageress in this firm.This task is quite the hardest task I have ever taken over.

PS : Some sources say "fairly" modifies the comparatives, and some say it doesn't. I wonder which oneis true.PS : I wonder if there are some more modifiers for comparatives and superlatives.Thanks a lot in advance:)

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