Comparatives and Superlatives

written by Deirdre McCarthy, York Language Tuition, TEFL & CELTA qualified English Tutor based in York.
http://www.yorklanguagetuition.co.uk

What are they?

We use comparatives to compare two people, places or things  that are different: John is taller than Harry;

Harry’s more patient than John; our last house was smaller than this house.

We use superlatives to compare three or more people, places or things.

John is the tallest boy in his class; this is the biggest house I have ever lived in; Libya has the highest recorded

temperature in the world.

How we use comparative and superlatives in English – what are the rules for spelling and form.

The table below shows some of the rules and a couple of exceptions to these rules – there are always

exceptions in English! Then there are the irregular forms – some of these are shown at the end in pink. 

                                                                                                                                                                                               

type of adjective	spelling rule comparative    superlative	comparative	superlative
Most 1-syllable adjectives	add –er             add -est	older        brighter BUT  dry - drier	richest        oldest BUT dry - driest
1-syllable adjective ending In -e	add –r               add -st	nicer         safer	nicest        safest
1-syllableadjectives ending in consonant + vowel + consonant	double the last consonant and add -er                       -est	bigger      fatter wetter BUT new - newer	biggest     thinnest wettest BUT new - newest
2-syllable adjectives ending in –y	Replace –y with –i and add   -er                      -est	easier      noisier windier   heavier	happiest    funniest heaviest     prettiest
2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y	put more        put most before the adjective	more mature more patient	most boring most patient
Adjectives with 3 syllables or more	put more        put most before the adjective	more aggressive more organised	most popular most attractive

Irregular adjectives:  
good, better, best
bad, worse, worst
far, further/farther, furthest/farthest

I think it’s interesting to consider why some of these rules apply.  For instance, why do we say “more aggressive” and “most attractive” instead of aggressive and attractivest. In this instance it’s simply about how it sounds. When there are more than 3 syllables, to just add –er or –est for the comparative or superlative would sound clumsy and awkward.


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