Comparative & Superlative Adjectives

Comparative & Superlative Adjectives

By Anabell Aguilar

Comparative

Comparatives are used to show the difference between two objects.  There are 4 rules

​

Let’s say that I have two cars.  I have a little Toyota and a big Ford.  A comparative is used to show the difference between the two. The Ford is big so we can say “the Ford is bigger than the Toyota”.  Because the Toyota is small, we can say “The Toyota is smaller than the Ford”. To learn to use these we need to learn five basic rules.​

Rule 1:

Rule 1. If an adjective has 1 syllable, we add the ending –er to the adjective.

​

ex: small + er = smaller​

​

The ant is SMALLER than the

hippo. ​

​

Rule 2:

Rule 2: a one syllable adjective ends with a CVC, you must double the last letter (consonant) and then ad –er.

​

ex: big + er = bigger than

​

The elephant is BIGGER than the

ant. ​

​

Rule 3:

Rule 3.  If an adjective ends with a “y”, remove the “y” and add –ier.

​

i.e. happy –y + ier =  happier than

​

The balloons are happier than ever!

​

Rule 4:

• Rule 4.  There are a few exceptions.

• good = better than

• bad = worse than

• far = farther than 

​

​

Remember, when using a comparative you must always follow it with the word “than”.

SUPerlative

​Superlatives are used to show the difference between more than two objects.  

​

Let’s say that I have three cars.  I have a little Toyota, a medium size Jeep and a big Ford.  A superlative is used to show the differences that exist in the group. The Ford is big so we can say “the Ford is the biggest”.  Because the Toyota is small, we can say “The Toyota is the smallest”. To learn to use these we need to learn five basic rules. 

Rule 1:

Rule 1.Rule 1.  If an adjective has 1 syllable we add the ending –est to the adjective.

​

i.e. small + est = the smallest

​

​

The ant is the smallest​

Rule 2:

​Rule 2.  If a one syllable adjective ends with a CVC, you must double the last consonant and ad –est.

​

i.e. big + est = the biggest

​

The hippo is the biggest​

Rule 3:

Rule 3.  If an adjective ends with a “y”, remove the “y” and add –iest.

​

ex: happy - y +iest = happiest

​

The hippo is the heaviest

Rule 4:

There are a few exceptions.

​

good = the best

bad = the worst

far = the farthest