Comparative and superlative

1. Comparative and Superlative
Four rules:
1. One syllable adjectives
2. Two syllables
3. Three or more syllables
4. Irregular comparatives and superlatives

2. Regular Comparative Number of
Syllables
hot hotter 1
cute cuter 1
pretty prettier 2
lonely lonelier 2
beautiful more beautiful 3

3. Comparative and Superlative
1. Adjectives with one syllable:
–er or –est at the end
dumb – dumber – dumbest

4. Comparative and Superlative
1. Adjectives with one syllable get –er
or –est at the end
cute – cuter – cutest

5. Comparative and Superlative
1. Adjectives with one syllable get –er
or –est at the end
tall – taller – tallest

6. Comparative and Superlative
1. Adjectives with one syllable get –er
or –est at the end
big – bigger - biggest

7. Comparative and Superlative
1. Adjectives with one syllable get –er
or –est at the end
fat – fatter - fattest

8. Comparative and Superlative
1. Adjectives with one syllable get –er
or –est at the end
sad – sadder - saddest

9. Comparative and Superlative
2. Adjectives with two syllables get
–er or –est at the end
or formed by preceeding more/most
happy – happier – happiest
happy - more happy – most happy

10. Comparative and Superlative
2. Adjectives with two syllables get
–er or–est at the end/more at the front
simple – simpler – simplest
simple - more simple – most simple

11. Comparative and Superlative
2. Adjectives with two syllables get
–er or–est at the end/more at the front
busy – busier – busiest
busy - more busy – most busy

12. Comparative and Superlative
2. Adjectives with two syllables get
–er or–est at the end/more at the front
tilted – tiltlier – tiltlest WRONG!
tilted - more tilted – most tilted

13. Comparative and Superlative
2. Some adjectives with two syllables
only get more/most
sadly - more sadly – most sadly

14. Comparative and Superlative
2. Adjectives with two syllables get
–er or–est at the end/more at the front
tilted – tiltlier – tiltlest WRONG!
tangled - more tangled – most tangled

15. Comparative and Superlative
3. Three or more syllables: you form the comparative by
putting more in front of the adjective, and the
superlative by putting most in front
important - more important – most important

16. Comparative and Superlative
3. Three or more syllables: you form the comparative by
putting more in front of the adjective, and the
superlative by putting most in front
expensive - more expensive – most expensive

17. Comparative and Superlative
3. Three or more syllables: you form the comparative by
putting more in front of the adjective, and the
superlative by putting most in front
generous - more generous – most generous

18. Comparative and Superlative
3. Three or more syllables: you form the comparative by
putting more in front of the adjective, and the
superlative by putting most in front
intelligent - more intelligent – most intelligent

19. Comparative and Superlative
4. Irregular comparatives and superlatives:
good – better – best
bad – worse - worst

20. Comparative and Superlative
4. Irregular comparatives and superlatives:
little – less – least
much – more - most

21. Comparative and Superlative
4. Irregular comparatives and superlatives:
far – further – furthest
far – farther -farthest

22. Comparative and Superlative
5. Comparative Adjectives are used to compare
differences between the two objects they modify
(larger, smaller, faster, higher). They are used in
sentences where two nouns are compared, in this
pattern:
Noun (subject) + verb + comparative adjective +
than + noun (object).

23. Comparative and Superlative
5. Examples Comparative Adjectives:
My house is larger than hers.
- This box is smaller than the one I lost.
Your dog runs faster than Jim's dog.

24. Comparative and Superlative