Comparative & Superlative Adjectives | ESL & ELT Activities
Comparative & Superlatives
Comparative & Superlative Adjectives | ESL & ELT Activities Answer Key
the fastest / larger
michela has got new light trousers
maria likes eating mexican food
dario is wearing an expensive coat
giulia has got the shortest scarf
he is the tallest student
sofia was the most popular actress
he was the best footabller in Europe
Sonia plays tennis better than you
your father is stronger than mine
Comparative & Superlative Adjectives & Structure Theory & Practise | ESL & ELT Activities
Formation of Comparative Adjectives
There are two ways to make or to “form” a comparative adjective:
*short adjectives: add “-er”
*long adjectives: use “more”
Short adjectives: add -er examples
1-syllable adjectives: old, fast older, faster
2-syllable adjectives ending in -y: happy, easy happier, easier
Spelling Rules:
Variation 1: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -r = late → later
Variation 2: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last consonant = big → bigger
Variation 3: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i = happy → happier
Long adjectives: use “more” examples
2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y modern, pleasant
all adjectives of 3 or more syllables expensive, intellectual
modern → more modern
expensive → more expensive
With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use “-er” OR “more”: common, cruel, gentle, handsome, likely, narrow, pleasant, polite, simple and stupid
quiet → quieter/more quiet
clever → cleverer/more clever
narrow → narrower/more narrow
simple → simpler/more simple
I think life in the countryside is simpler than in the city.
It’s more simple to live in the city because everything you need is there.
Exception: The following adjectives have irregular forms:
good → better
well (healthy) → better
bad → worse
far → farther/further old — older/elder (elder is used to describe family memebers)
Superlative adjectives
Superlative adjectives are the extreme or maximum level or grade, they describe one person or thing as having more of a quality than all other people or things in a group:
The ‘Silver Arrow’ will be the fastest train in the world when it is built.
The most frightening film I’ve ever seen was Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’.
To form the superlative, we use the –est suffix with adjectives of one syllable. We normally use the before a superlative adjective:
I think that’s the biggest apple I’ve ever seen!
At one time, the Empire State building in New York was the tallest building in the world.
They have three boys. Richard is the oldest and Simon is the youngest.
What is the least expensive way of travelling in Japan?
One-syllable adjectives which are irregular
Some one-syllable adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms:
- bad, worse, worst far, farther/further, farthest/furthest
- good, better, best old, older/elder, oldest/eldest
The morning flight is better than the afternoon one.
His elder sister works for the government.
Olivia is Denise’s best friend.
I think that was the worst film I’ve ever seen!
Pluto is the furthest planet from the sun in our solar system.
Two-syllable adjectives
Two-syllable adjectives ending in -y change y to i and take the –er and –est endings:
busy, busier, busiest happy, happier, happiest easy, easier, easiest funny, funnier, funniest We were busier last week than this week.
Are you happier now that you’ve changed your job?
That was the easiest exam I’ve ever taken.
Some other two-syllable adjectives (especially those ending in an unstressed vowel sound) can also take the –er and –est endings:
clever, cleverer, cleverest quiet, quieter, quietest narrow, narrower, narrowest simple, simpler, simplest I’ve always thought that Donald was cleverer than his brother.
This new bed is narrower than the old one.
The guest bedroom is the quietest room in the house because it overlooks the garden.
We don’t normally use the –er and -est endings with two-syllable adjectives ending in -ful. Instead, we use more and most/least:
This dictionary is more useful than the one we had before.
Not:
This dictionary is usefuller…You’ll have to try to be more careful in future.
The most useful tool in the kitchen is a good sharp knife.
Not:
The usefulest tool in the kitchen…This is the least harmful chemical in terms of the environment.
Comparative adjectives: using much, a lot, far, etc.
We can strengthen or emphasise a comparative adjective using words such as much, a lot, far, even or rather, or by using than ever after the adjective:
This food is much better than the food we had yesterday.
The town is a lot more crowded these days because of the new shopping centre.
Alex is far less intelligent than the other kids in the class.
We’ve been busier than ever at work this last month or so.
We can soften a comparative adjective using a little or a bit. A bit is less formal:
She feels a little more confident now that she’s given her first public performance.
or She feels a bit more confident … (less formal)
Comparative adjectives: using than
We use than when we mention the second person or thing in the comparison. If the second person mentioned takes the form of a personal pronoun, we normally use the object form of the pronoun (me, you, him, her, us, them):
Could you carry this? You’re stronger than me.
Not:
You’re stronger than I.Why did you choose Robert? Marie is more experienced than him.
In more formal situations, instead of than + object pronoun, we can use than + subject pronoun + be:
You managed to answer the ten questions correctly? Well, you’re definitely cleverer than I am!
I preferred Henrietta to Dennis. She was always more sociable than he was.
Comparative adjectives: –er and –er, more and more
To talk about how a person or thing is changing and gaining more of a particular quality, we can use two –er form adjectives connected by and, or we can use more and more before an adjective. We don’t follow such comparisons with than:
The weather is getting hotter and hotter.
I’m getting more and more interested in conservation these days.
Comparative adjectives: the -er, the -er and the more …, the more …
We often use the with comparative adjectives to show that one thing depends on another. If a person or thing gains more of a particular quality and this causes a parallel increase of another quality, we can repeat the + a comparative adjective:
The faster you drive, the more dangerous it is.
(= When you drive faster, it is more dangerous.)The higher they climbed, the colder it got.
(= When they climbed higher, it got colder.)The colder it is, the hungrier I get. (as the weather gets colder, I get hungrier)
The more generous you are towards others, the more generous they are likely to be towards you.
Reduced forms after comparatives
After than, we often don’t repeat subject pronouns with impersonal subjects, or auxiliary verbs with passive voice verbs:
The exam results were better than predicted. (preferred to … better than people predicted.)
Temperatures that summer were higher than previously recorded. (preferred to … than were previously recorded.)
Less and not as/not so with comparatives
We use less with longer adjectives (interesting, beautiful, complicated), but we don’t normally use less with short adjectives of one syllable (big, good, high, small). Instead we use not as … as …, or not so … as … Not as is more common than not so:
The second method was less complicated than the first one.
This new laptop is not as fast as my old one. I’m sorry I bought it now. (preferred to is less fast than my old one.)
Prepositions after superlative adjectives
We don’t normally use of before a singular name of a place or group after a superlative adjective:
The castle is the oldest building in the city.
Not:
The castle is the oldest building of the city…She’s the youngest musician in the orchestra.
However, we can use of with a plural word referring to a group:
All the sisters are pretty, but Sarah’s the prettiest of them all.
The with superlative adjectives
When a superlative adjective is followed by a noun, we normally use the:
This is the best meal I’ve had for a long time.
Not:
This is best meal…In informal situations, we can often omit the after a linking verb (be, seem) or a verb of the senses (look, taste) if there is no noun:
[talking about sweaters in a shop]
They’ve got them in red, green or grey. Which looks best?
If you want to get a message to Peter, email is quickest. He never answers the phone.
Other determiners with superlative adjectives
Before a superlative adjective, we can use a possessive determiner (my, his, their), or the + a number (two, three, first, second), or a possessive determiner + a number:
My worst score ever in an exam was zero. I just couldn’t answer any of the questions.
Birmingham is the second biggest city in England.
His two best friends organised a surprise party for him on his fortieth birthday.
Emphasising superlative adjectives
We can make a superlative adjective stronger with by far, easily or of all:
The Beatles were by far the most successful rock band of the 1960s.
This method is by far the least complicated.
She’s easily the best dancer in the group. No one is as elegant as her.
There were a number of excellent poems entered for the competition, but the best poem of all was written by a ten-year-old boy.
In more formal situations, we can use quite:
This is quite the most irresponsible behaviour I have ever seen.
To-infinitives after superlative adjectives
We can use a to-infinitive after a superlative adjective, with a meaning similar to a relative clause with who, which or that:
Who was the oldest person to compete in the London Marathon of 2008? (Who was the oldest person who competed …?)
The Golden Swan was the largest sailing-ship ever to be used in battle.
Training & Practise
*to correct these activities visit: https://brainperks4u.wordpress.com/2023/05/31/comparative-superlative-adjectives-theory-practise-esl-elt-activities-answer-key/
Activity 1
1. Comparative adjectives are used when comparing _______ things, people or groups.
two
two or more
three or more
2. Which is the comparative form? “I’m strong, but my brother is _______ .”
strongest
stronger
as strong
3. Many adjectives are changed into the comparative form by adding
-er
-est
-ies
4. Which is the correct comparative form? “My phone’s expensive, but Joe’s is _______ .”
expensiver
most expensive
more expensive
5. A long adjective of 3 or more syllables is changed into a comparative adjective by
adding -er to it
adding -est to it
putting “more” before it
6. Which is correct? “Do you think Maria is _______ than Selena?”
prettier
more pretty
more prettier
7. Which is not a comparative form of the adjective “clever”?
cleverer
cleverrer
more clever
8. Which is correct? “English is _______ Japanese.”
easier
more easy
easier than
9. Which is correct? “This year the weather is ______ than last year.”
badder
worse
worser
10. Which is comparative? “Whose English is _______? Mine or his?”
good
better
best
Activity 2
- Ariel moved to the countryside because he wanted a ________________ life.
peacefuller
more peaceful - She is __________________ in the city because she has a lot of friends there.
more happy
happier - I feel _____________________ if I go for a walk in the forest with my dog.
more relaxed
relaxeder - It’s _____________________ in the mountains than at the seaside.
colder
more cold - He says that famous people are ______________________ than his family, but I think he’s wrong!
interestinger
more interesting - The vegetables from my garden are _________________ than the ones in the supermarket.
tastier
more tastier - The noise from the traffic is __________________________ if you live near a busy road.
badder
worse - Thank you for cleaning the kitchen! It’s much ______________________ now.
cleaner
more cleaner
Activty 3
- If you practise more, your English will get b________________.
- We’ve invited six friends for dinner, so we need a l___________ table.
- The Beatles are not bad, but I prefer m _____________ m ___________ music.
- My brother is ten years o ____________ t __________ me.
- Brazil’s economy is now b ____________ t ___________ Britain’s.
- Travelling by train is m __________ d ___________ t ____________ flying.
- Computers these days are getting s _____________ and s_____________
- As the story went on, it became m ________ and m_________ i___________________.
- The h____________ I work, the m______________ taxes I have to pay.
- The f_____________ the boat went, the m___________ f______________ I became.
Activity 4
A Complete the sentences with the comparative form.
- The coffee is very weak. I would like it ______
- The car was very cheap. I expected it to be ______
- You are standing too near the door. Can you move a bit ____ away.
- Your project isn’t very good. I am sure you can do _____.
- School is a bit boring sometimes. I wish it was a bit ________.
B Complete the sentences using the from “the… the….” with the verb in brackets.
- The warmer the weather, ____________(feel)
- The more tired you are, ______it is to concentrate. (hard)
- The more I eat, ______ I get(heavy)
- The longer she had to wait, ___________ she became.(impatient)
*to correct these activities visit: https://brainperks4u.wordpress.com/2023/05/31/comparative-superlative-adjectives-theory-practise-esl-elt-activities-answer-key/
What is an adjective? | parts of speech: adjectives | adjective types: possessive | ELT & ESL
Possessive ADJECTIVES
ESL Grammar lesson about Possessive Adjectives: My, Your, His, Her, Its, Our, Your, Their
First, we use example sentences to compare Subject Pronouns with their corresponding Possessive Adjectives.
We then explain how there is only one form of a possessive adjective (no plural change with plural nouns as happens in some languages)
We quickly look at the difference between IT’S and ITS.
We also look at the difference between YOU’RE and YOUR.
to learn more about adjectives, visit:
What is an adjective? | parts of speech: adjectives | adjective types: comparatives & superlatives| ELT & ESL
Adjectives: Comparative & Superlative
Using comparatives and superlatives to compare people, places, or things. In this video we talk about Comparative Adjectives and Superlative Adjectives. We will see adverbs in another video.
This ESL video is divided into the following sections.
– The difference between a comparative and a superlative.
– Adjectives with one syllable – adding -ER and -EST
– One-syllable adjectives ending in E. (e.g. nice, strange)
– Doubling the final consonant (e.g. big, hot)
– Two-syllable adjectives ending in Y. (e.g. happy, crazy)
– Adjectives with two or more syllables (e.g. famous, expensive)
– Two exceptions – Good and Bad
to learn more about adjectives, visit:
brain-perks 