Positive, Comparative, Superlative Adjectives

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We can use adjectives to compare two things/people or more. 

Comparative Adjective Examples

• I am taller than my mother.
• This car is better than that car.
• Giving examples is more difficult than giving instructions.
• My wife is younger than I am.
• His watch is more expensive than my car.
• Asia is bigger than Europe.
• Health is more important than wealth.
• Grace is more attractive than her sister.
• January is always longer than February.
• This exercise is easier than the previous one.

Superlative Adjective Examples

• My father is the oldest person in my family.
• These are the most expensive things I can buy.
• Bill is the richest guy in the world.
• She's active in the most popular social media website.
• Who's the most powerful man in the world?
• I was born in the largest city in this country. 
• He's the most intelligent politician in our town.
• Bengawan Solo is the longest river in Java.
• He's the oldest person to buy this product.
• She's the most beautiful girl in my class.

Positive, Comparative, Superlative Adjective  Rules

There are three degrees of comparison. They are :

• Positive
• Comparative
• Superlative

Let's see the following tables of those three comparisons.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
bright    tall  important	brighter  taller  more important	brightest  tallest  most important

One Syllable Adjectives

We can form comparative and superlative of one syllable adjectives by putting er or est at the end of the adjectives. Let's see the following examples.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
small  high  sharp  hard  light	smaller  higher  sharper  harder  lighter	smallest  highest  sharpest  hardest  lightest

One Syllable Adjectives Ending In 'e'

At the end of adjectives ending in e, we just put r or st. Let's see the following tables.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
safe  brave  nice  fine  ripe	safer  braver  nicer  finer  riper	safest  bravest  nicest  finest  ripest

 Three Or More Syllable Adjectives

We can form comparative and superlative of three or more syllable adjectives by putting more or most before the adjectives. Let's see the following examples.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
interesting  important  frightening  amusing  expensive	more interesting  more important  more frightening  more amusing  more expensive	most interesting  most important  most frightening  most amusing  most expensive

Two Syllable Adjectives Ending In y, er, ly

For two syllable adjectives ending in y, er, ly, we normally put er or est at the end of the adjectives.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
happy  funny  clever  silly  pretty  early  noisy  quiet	happier  funnier  cleverer  sillier  prettier  earlier  noisier  quieter	happiest  funniest  cleverest  silliest  prettiest  earliest  noisiest  quietest

Note : y becomes i.

Two Syllable Adjectives Ending In ful And re

For two syllable adjectives ending in ful and re, we normally put more or most before the adjectives.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
doubtful  obscure  often	more doubtful  more obscure  more often	most doubtful  most obscure  most often

Irregular   

Some adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative form. Let's see the following table.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
bad  far  good  little  many/much  old	worse  farther/further  better  less  more  older/elder	worst  farthest/furthest  best  least  most  oldest/eldest

Two Forms

Some adjectives have two comparative and superlative forms. They can use -er/est or more/most. See table 1.

Table 1

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
clever	cleverer/more clever	the cleverest/the most clever
common	commoner/more common	the commonest/the most common
likely	likelier/more likely	the likeliest/the most likely
pleasant	pleasanter/more pleasant	the pleasantest/the most pleasant
polite	politer/more polite	the politest/the most polite
quiet	quieter/more quiet	the quietest/the most quiet
simple	simpler/more simple	the simplest/the most simple
stupid	stupider/more stupider	the stupidest/the most stupid
subtle	subtler/more subtle	the subtlest/the most subtle
sure	surer/more sure	the surest/the most sure

Farther And Further

Further is usually used for abstract nouns to mean additional/extra. Let's see the following examples.

• further information
• further discussion
• further instructions
• further demands

Farther is usually used for physical distance. Let's see the following examples.

• From Hongkong, Jakarta is farther than Kuala Lumpur.
• My school is farther than my father's office.

Older And Elder

Older implies age comparison, while elder implies seniority. Elder is mainly used for comparisons within a family. Let's see the following examples.

• my elder brother
• his eldest son
• John is older than George.

Comparative Adjective In Sentences

We usually compare two things with comparative adjectives. In this case we usually use than. Let's see the following examples.

• The new governor is closer to his people than the older one.
• Corruption is more dangerous than bomb blasts.
• The boy is stronger than I expected.

Superlative Adjectives In Sentences

We usually compare three or more things/people with superlative adjectives. In this case, we usually use the...in/of/on. Let's see the following examples.

• He is the richest man on earth.
• This is the best wine I have ever drunk.
• This is the oldest building in Paris.
• This is the hottest month of the year.
• We stay in one of the nicest room in the hotel.
• What is the highest mountain in the world?

Comparative and Superlative Adjective Table

See table  2 for the most commonly-used adjectives. 

Table 2

No	Positive	Comparative	Superlative
1	available	more available	the most available
2	bad	worse	the worst
3	big	bigger	the biggest
4	black	blacker	the blackest
5	blue	bluer	the bluest
6	clear	clearer	the clearest
7	close	closer	the closest
8	cold	colder	the coldest
9	common	more common/ commoner	the most common/ the commonest
10	current	more current	the most current
11	dark	darker	the darkest
12	democratic	more democratic	the most democratic
13	difficult	more difficult	the most difficult
14	early	earlier	the earliest
15	easy	easier	the easiest
16	economical	more economical	the most economical
17	environmental	more environmental	the most environmental
18	far	farther/ further	the farthest/ the furthest
19	fine	finer	the finest
20	free	freer	the freest
21	general	more general	the most general
22	good	better	the best
23	great	greater	the greatest
24	green	greener	the greenest
25	happy	happier	the happiest
26	hard	harder	the hardest
27	high	higher	the highest
28	hot	hotter	the hottest
29	important	more important	the most important
30	large	larger	the largest
31	late	later	the latest
32	likely	likelier	the likeliest
33	little	less	the least
34	long	longer	the longest
35	low	lower	the lowest
36	natural	more natural	the most natural
37	new	newer	the newest
38	nice	nicer	the nicest
39	old	older	the oldest
40	personal	more personal	the most personal
41	physical	more physical	the most physical
42	poor	poorer	the poorest
43	popular	more popular	the most popular
44	possible	more possible	the most possible
45	private	more private	the most private
46	ready	readier	the readiest
47	real	realer	the realest
48	recent	more recent	the most recent
49	red	redder	the reddest
50	religious	more religious	the most religious
51	right	righter	the rightest
52	serious	more serious	the most serious
53	short	shorter	the shortest
54	significant	more significant	the most significant
55	similar	more similar	the most similar
56	simple	simpler	the simplest
57	small	smaller	the smallest
58	sociable	more sociable	the most sociable
59	special	more special	the most special
60	strong	stronger	the strongest
61	traditional	more traditional	the most traditional
62	various	more various	the most various
63	white	whiter	the whitest
64	wrong	wronger	the wrongest
65	young	younger	the youngest

More Positive, Comparative, and Superlative

dear    dearer    dearest

bright    brighter    brightest   

Download the table in Google drive here.

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If you need communicative activities for teaching this topic, see this post.

Comparative and Superlative Exercises

Exercise 1A

Complete the table with correct comparative and superlative adjectives

No	Positive	Comparative	Superlative
1	bad
2	big
3	clear
4	close
5	cold
6	good
7	difficult
8	early
9	easy
10	fat
11	fine
12	fishy
13	good
14	great
15	green
16	happy
17	hard
18	harmful
19	horrifying
20	significant

Exercise 1B

Underline the right comparative or superlative adjectives in the brackets to complete the sentences.

1. My girlfriend is (taller, the tallest) than me.
2. I'm (younger, the youngest) of the family.
3. Can you visit me (oftener, more often)?
4. It's (more expensive, the most expensive) house I've ever seen.
5. What is (larger, the largest) city in your country?
6. My mother is (older, the oldest) than my father.
7. Mr. Solihin is much (older, the oldest) than I expected.
8. Surabaya is (bigger, the biggest) than Bandung.
9. Love is (more valuable, the most valuable) thing in our life.
10. She's (more beautiful, the most beautiful) girl in our class.

Exercise II

Complete the sentences with the superlative and its preposition.

Example   : It's a very expensive hotel.   ..................................in town.

You write : It's the most expensive hotel in town.

1. It's a very cheap jacket. ................................I've ever bought.
2. It's a very large bedroom. ...............................I've ever slept in.
3. She's a very beautiful girl. ...............................at school.
4. He's a very good player.  ..............................of the team.
5. It's a very beautiful city. ..............................in Norway.
6. Jack is very tall.                                                 ..................................in my class.
7. It's a very popular website in our country.       ....................................... in our country.
8. He's a very nice guy.                                          ........................................I've ever known.
9. Bill is a very generous man.                             ............................................ever.
10. It's a very touching story.                                 ...........................................I've ever read.

Exercise III

Complete the sentences with the correct comparative or superlative adjectives. Put correct prepositions.

attractive comfortable expensive good high long old populated tall young

1. John is eighteen while I am only sixteen. So, I am  ………………….him.

2. Icha is ……………………..girl in my class. She's 170 cms tall.

3. She's ……………………...girl at the party. Everyone admired her.

4. Mount Everest is ……………….mountain in the world.

5. Ringo is a ………………. drummer ….John.

6. What is ………………river in the world?

7. Mercedes is ……………………….Toyota.

8. Jakarta is ……………………..Paris.

9. My father is one year ……………….my mother. He is fifty-one, while she is fifty.

10. This chair is …………………………...that chair.  That's why, I always sit here.

Exercise III (Paragraph)

Complete the paragraph with the right comparative or superlative adjectives provided in the box.

big consumerist few few good happy high high hot large much patient

Dear Peggy,

Some people have told you that it does not make any difference whether you stay in Jakarta or Bandung. Before you make a decision, let me give some information about the cities. There are no identical cities in this world. Even cities in the same countries and provinces are different in many ways such as location, size, language, climate, and lifestyle. Likewise, Jakarta and Bandung are different in many aspects.

Firstly, the two cities have  different temperatures. Jakarta is a lot 1. ………... than Jakarta. That's why Jakartans spend  2.………... money on air conditioners.  Secondly, the cities are also different in size. Jakarta, with around 664 square kilometres, is about four times  3…...……. than Bandung.  It's not surprising that the number of population of Jakarta is a lot 4…….…… than that of Bandung. Thirdly, both cities speak different languages. Most of Jakarta's population speak Bahasa Indonesia whereas there are 5..…………..people in Bandung who speak the Indonesia's national language; most of them speak Sundanese Language. In addition, a lot of Jakarta's population are 6..…………… due to their 7...……….. income compared to that of Bandung's population. However, it seems to me that most people who live in Bandung are 8.…………….than those who live in Jakarta. In Bandung people are 9…..………… with the congested traffic. You can hear 10.…………. pressed-horn in Bandung. Meanwhile, if you drive in Jakarta, you can often hear angrily-pressed horn. In spite of the differences, you can still enjoy the friendliness of both Indonesia cities. Welcome to Indonesia. Hopefully, you can choose which city is better for you.

Yours,

Jim

Answer 

Exercise IA

No	Positive	Comparative	Superlative
1	bad	worse	the worst
2	big	bigger	the biggest
3	clear	clearer	the clearest
4	close	closer	the closest
5	cold	colder	the coldest
6	good	better	the best
7	difficult	more difficult	the most difficult
8	early	earlier	the earliest
9	easy	easier	the easiest
10	fat	fatter	the fattest
11	fine	finer	the finest
12	fishy	fishier	the fishiest
13	good	better	the best
14	great	greater	the greatest
15	green	greener	the greenest
16	happy	happier	the happiest
17	hard	harder	the hardest
18	harmful	more harmful	the most harmful
19	horrifying	more horrifying	the most horrifying
20	significant	more significant	the most significant

Exercise IB

1. My girlfriend is taller than me.
2. I'm the youngest  of the family.
3. Can you visit me more often  ?
4. It's the most expensive  house I've ever seen.
5. What is the largest  city in your country?
6. My mother is older than my father.
7. Mr. Solihin is much older than I expected.
8. Surabaya is bigger than Bandung.
9. Love is the most valuable thing in our life.
10. She's the most beautiful girl in our class.

Exercise II

1. It's a very cheap jacket. It's the cheapest jacket I've ever bought.
2. It's a very large bedroom. It's the largest bedroom I've ever slept in.
3. She's a very beautiful girl. She's the most beautiful girl at school.
4. He's a very good player.  He's the best player of the team.
5. It's a very beautiful city. It's the most beautiful city in Norway.
6. Jack is very tall.                                                Jack is the tallest boy in my class.
7. It's a very popular website in our country.       It's the most popular website in our country.
8. He's a very nice guy.                                          He's the nicest guy I've ever known.
9. Bill is a very generous man.                             Bill is the most generous man ever.
10. It's a very touching story.                               It's the most touching story I've ever read.

Exercise III

1. John is eighteen while I am only sixteen. So, I am  younger than him.

2. Icha is the tallest girl in my class. She's 170 cms tall.

3. She's the most attractive girl at the party. Everyone admired her.

4. Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.

5. Ringo is a better drummer than John.

6. What is the longest river in the world?

7. Mercedes is more expensive than Toyota.

8. Jakarta is more populated than Paris.

9. My father is one year older than my mother. He is fifty-one, while she is fifty.

10. This chair is more comfortable than that chair.  That's why, I always sit here.

Exercise IV

1. hotter

2. more

3. bigger/larger

4. higher

5. fewer

6. more consumerist

7. higher/better

8. happier

9. more patient

10. fewer

Download/print the exercises  in Google Drive.

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