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

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.

Fast / Slow

A car is faster than a bicycle.
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.

Formation of Comparative Adjectives

There are two ways to make or form a comparative adjective:

long adjectives: use "more"

Short adjectives
1-syllable adjectives	old, fast
2-syllable adjectives ending in -y	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
2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y	modern, pleasant
all adjectives of 3 or more syllables	expensive, intellectual
Normal rule: use "more"	modern → more modern expensive → more expensive