Forming Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

1. Forming Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

2. 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. • Mary is tallerthan Max. • Mary is the tallestof all the students. • Max is olderthan John. • Of the three students, Max is the oldest. • My hair is longerthan your hair. • Max's story is the longeststory I've ever heard.

3. If the one-syllable adjective ends with an e, just add –r for the comparative form and –st for the superlative form. Mary's car is largerthan Max's car. Mary's house is the tallestof all the houses on the block. Max is wiserthan his brother. Max is the wisestperson I know.

4. 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. • My dog is biggerthan your dog. • My dog is the biggestof all the dogs in the neighborhood. • Max is thinnerthan John. • Of all the students in the class, Max is the thinnest. • My mother is fatterthan your mother. • Mary is the fattestperson I've ever seen.

5. Two-syllable adjectives. With most two-syllable adjectives, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most. • This morning is more peacefulthan yesterday morning. • Max's house in the mountains is the most peacefulin the world. • Max is more carefulthan Mike. • Of all the taxi drivers, Jack is the most careful. • Jill is more thoughtfulthan your sister. • Mary is the most thoughtfulperson I've ever met.

6. If the two-syllable adjectives ends with –y, change the y to iand add –er for the comparative form. For the superlative form change the y to i and add –est. • John is happier today than he was yesterday. • John is the happiest boy in the world. • Max is angrierthan Mary. • Of all of John's victims, Max is the angriest. • Mary is busierthan Max. • Mary is the busiestperson I've ever met.

7. Adjectives with three or more syllables. For adjectives with three syllables or more, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most. • John is more generousthan Jack. • John is the most generousof all the people I know. • Health is more importantthan money. • Of all the people I know, Max is the most important. • Women are more intelligentthan men. • Mary is the most intelligentperson I've ever met.

8. Exceptions.Irregular adjectives. 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. Of all the students in the class, Max is the worst.

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

10. 1. My suitcase is….. (+ large) than your suitcase. 2. This scarf is…. (+ beautiful) than the one in the window. 3. The palace Hotel was…… (+ expensive) than the Grosvenor. 4. John is a….. (+ good) gardener than Stuart. 5. They are not going to the ……(+ bad) hotel. 6. The palace is the…….. (+ expensive) hotel. 7. John is the…… (+ good) gardener. 8. These are the…….. (+ beautiful) colours. 9. Mr.Smith is ……..(+ bad) today than yesterday.