Comparative
Comparative adjectives are used to compare two (and only two) things. They are used with the word THAN.
Structures:
Subject + BE + Adjective + ER + Than
Subject + BE + More + Adjective + Than
Subject + BE + More + Adjective + Than
Examples:
The car is bigger than the bicycle.
The dress is more expensive than the pants.
Tall / Short
The man on the left is taller than the man on the right.
The man on the right is shorter than the man on the left.
The man on the right is shorter than the man on the left.
Fast / Slow
A car is faster than a bicycle.
A bicycle is slower than a car.
A bicycle is slower than a car.
Comparative adjectives are used to show what quality one thing has more or less than the other. They normally come before any other adjectives.
Example:
Big / Small
The red bag is bigger than the blue bag.
The blue bag is smaller than the red bag.
The blue bag is smaller than the red bag.
Formation of Comparative Adjectives
There are two ways to make or form a comparative adjective:
- short adjectives: add "-er"
- long adjectives: use "more"
| Short adjectives | |
| old, fast |
| happy, easy |
| Normal rule: add "-er" | old → older |
| Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -r | late → later |
| Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last consonant | big → bigger |
| Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i | happy → happier |
| Long adjectives | |
| modern, pleasant |
| expensive, intellectual |
| Normal rule: use "more" | modern → more modern expensive → more expensive |
With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use '-er' or 'more':
- quiet → quieter/more quiet
- clever → cleverer/more clever
- narrow → narrower/more narrow
- simple → simpler/more simple
Exception
The following adjectives have irregular forms:
- good → better
- well (healthy) → better
- bad → worse
- far → farther/further
Examples:
The chocolate ice cream is better than the vanilla ice cream.
The green shoes are worse than the blue shoes.
Resources
Exercises
