Comparative Forms of Adjectives

The Grammar HELP!  Student Handbook - Online!

In today's Grammar HELP! Student Handbook - Online! lesson, we continue our unit on Adjectives and Adverbs. Today we focus on comparative forms of adjectives. 


You can read our prior lesson, Demonstrative Adjectives, before you begin today with the exercises.

What's Wrong With The Sentence?

Life here is more expensive and harder than life in my native country.

Comparative Forms

What Is a Comparative Form?

Use the comparative form of an adjective when you are comparing two items to each other.

How Do You Form the Comparative and Superlative Forms of an Adjective?

This depends on several factors.  It depends on:

  • how many syllables the adjective has, and

  • what letter of the alphabet the adjective ends in.

Adjectives That Have ONE (1) Syllable ("Short" Adjectives)
e.g. few, tall, large, sad
comparative Add ~er
few We have fewer criminals.
sad She seems to get sadder and sadder.
superlative  
Exceptions  
good comparative: better
bad comparative: worse

 

Multi-syllable Adjectives that End in the Letter ~y
e.g. happy, easy, silly
  1) First, eliminate the ~y.
  2) Then:
comparative add ~ier
happy We have fewer criminals
sad She seems to get sadder and sadder.
superlative  
 

 

One-syllable Adjectives that End in the Letter ~y
e.g. shy, gay
 
Follow the rule in Chart #1, above, for "short" adjectives.
There are two (2) acceptable ways of spelling this.
comparative  
shy I was shier when I was younger.
  I was shyer when I was younger.
superlative  
 

 

Multi-syllable Adjectives that Do Not End in the Letter ~y
e.g. beautiful, interesting
 
comparative add more ~ (than)
expensive Private schools are more expensive than public schools.
interesting The book is more interesting than the movie.
   
  add less ~ (than)
Public schools are less expensive than private schools.
  The movie is less interesting than the book.
   
superlative  
 


Word Order

When using two or more superlative adjectives in a phrase:

  • place the adjectives that use an adjective ending (~est) first.

  • place the adjectives that use a helping word (more, most, etc.) last.

What's Wrong With This Sentence?

Life here is more expensive and harder than life in my native country.

Solution: 
 

Life here is harder and more expensive than life in my native country.

Next...  Superlative Forms of Adjectives

Join us for our next lesson, "Superlative Forms of Adjectives".

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