Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Comparative – to compare two objects in a group

• One syllable – add -er to the end of the adjective. E.g. bigger, taller
• Two or more syllables – add ‘more’ before the adjective. E.g. more interesting, more difficult
• If an adjective ends in ‘y’ – change ‘y’ to an ‘i’ and add -er. E.g. easier, heavier
• Add ‘than’ after the adjective. E.g. shorter than, more confusing than

Superlative – to say one thing is the top of a group

• One syllable – add -est to the end of the adjective. E.g. hottest, coldest
• Two or more syllables – add ‘most’ before the adjective. E.g. most boring, most colourful
• If an adjective ends in ‘y’ – change ‘y’ to an ‘i’ and add -est. E.g. messiest, bossiest
• Add ‘the’ before the adjective. E.g. the most beautiful, the hardest

Irregular Adjectives

• There are some adjectives which don’t follow the above rule and the word changes depending on comparative or superlative.
• Still use ‘than’ and ‘the’ in the normal places as above with the following adjectives:
• Good – better – best
• Bad – worse – worst
• Far – further – furthest