Teaching Comparative Adjectives: An ESL Lesson Plan

A3.1- Adjectives comparatives,
basics
Lesson 1/5
ESL Lesson Plan
ESL Lesson Plan
ESL Lesson Plan
ESL Lesson Plan
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What can you say about these pictures?

Old and older…
The man is old.
The woman is older.
The shirt is expensive.
The dress is more
expensive.
Kevin is rich.
Mark is richer.

To compare…
If you compare things, you consider them and discover the
differences or similarities between them:
I really like
this cereal…
…but I think that
this cereal is
healthier.

To compare…
I’m tall, but
she’s taller.
She’s
smaller.
These look
fresh.
But these
look fresher.

Comparative adjectives
small
fast
young
cheap
smaller
faster
younger
cheaper
old
green
older
greener
adjective comparative
+ -er
for words ending in –e,
like late, we just add –r
= later

1. Mount Etna is high but Mount
Everest is _____.
2. The plane ticket is expensive. I
think it is _____ to go by train.
3. Jason is 12 and Susanne is 14.
Jason is _____.
4. Paris is an old city but Athens is
_____.
Choose an adjective + make the
comparative
high
cheap
young
old

For some words we change the spelling
big
sad
hot
thin
bigger
sadder
hotter
thinner
red redder
adjective comparative

consonants, vowels and syllables
a
e
i
o
u
vowels consonants
b
c
d
f
g
k
h
m
n
p
r
s
t
w
y
syllables
one-syllable
word
two-syllable
word
three-syllable
word
big
af/ter
ham/bur/ger
How many syllables are in these words?
little / Germany / help / America / beautiful

big > bigger
You must double the consonant if:
the adjective is one
syllable
the last three letters are
consonant + vowel + consonant
+
one syllable vowel + consonant double consonant
hot h + o + t ✓ hotter (yes)
big b + i + g ✓ bigger (yes)
soft o + f + t ✗ softer (no)
But, if the consonant is w, we don’t double the consonant:
slow – slower new – newer

5. We should ride our bikes on this
road because it is _____.
6. Tyler looked sad yesterday and
today he looks even _____.
7. I don’t want to read a thick book.
Please give me a _____ one.
8. My cat is fat but your cat is _____.
Use the comparative below
thin
flat
sad
fat

For adjectives ending in –y…
heavy heavier
friendly friendlier
easy easier

9. Yesterday Ted arrived at work at 8am. Today he arrived
_____.
10. Gabrielle’s dress is pretty, but I think that your dress is
_____.
11. James! Do your homework! You get _____ every day!
12. Last year I wasn’t very happy. This year I feel _____.
Use a comparative below
lazy early happy pretty

Long adjectives…
careful
care /
ful
Many adjectives have 2 or more syllables:
=
beautiful
beau / ti
/ ful
=
modern
mo /
dern
=
To make the comparative,
we add the word more
before the adjective:
more
careful
more
beautiful
more
modern

13. John and Stephanie are both serious people, but I think
Stephanie is _____.
14. Last week there were many people at the cinema, but
tonight the cinema is _____.
15. I didn’t enjoy my last book. This one is _____.
16. You need to finish both these reports. But that one is
_____, so please do it first.
interesting crowded important serious

Complete the table
adjective comparative adjective comparative
old
big
easy
heavy
expensive
important
thin
older late
intelligent
sad
scary
boring
modern
large
more modern

17. This knife doesn’t cut very well. Can you please bring me
a _____ one?
18. Heather is going to the gym these days. She is _____
than she was last year.
sharp dangerous high strong

good, bad and far
These adjectives have an irregular comparative. You need to
remember them:
good better
bad worse
far further
adjective comparative Your pasta looks good but
mine looks better. gooder
I felt bad yesterday and
today I feel worse. badder
We have to drive further to
get to the airport. farer

Tell your teacher!
What is the comparative of each of these adjectives?
good
far
bad
young
heavy
slow
important
expensive
nice
interesting
polite

Your turn!
Use a comparative to complete the sentences:
19. It isn’t hot today. It was __________ yesterday.
20. This cheese doesn’t taste good. The other cheese tasted
__________.
21. My chair is uncomfortable. Your chair is __________!
22. I felt ill an hour ago. I took a tablet and now I feel
_________.

23. My French lessons are not interesting. My English
lessons are _________.
24. I don’t like his idea. My idea is _________.
25. Let’s go to the shopping center near my house. The other
shopping center is _________ and I don’t have a car.
26. England and Ireland are small countries. Turkey is
__________.
Time to practice!

27. Can you please give me some ice so my drink will be
_________?
28. I’m not taking a bus. It’s difficult. Let’s get a taxi because
it’s _________.
29. Don’t speak like that! You must be __________.
30. I only got 67% on my exam yesterday but last month my
grade was _____. Only 52%.
What about these ones?

Summary
adjective + comparative
1 syllable -er older, younger, nicer
1 syllable ending in
V+C
+consonant +
-er
bigger, thinner (but
slower)
ending in -y >ier heavier, easier,
friendlier
more than 1 syllable more + adjective more important, more
expensive
good, bad, far irregular form better, worse, further

31. This bag is $200. That bag is $250. It’s expensiver.
32. Do you think it is more cheap to travel by plane or train?
33. We need to drive more far. Probably another 50
kilometers.
34. Yesterday I felt ill. I slept 10 hours last night and now I
feel more good.
Correct the sentences

A
B
C

10x x 5y + 93/2= ?
(7.5 x 2^3) / (4.2-12) = ?
A
B
C

Teaching Comparative Adjectives: An ESL Lesson Plan

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