Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Colegio San José La Serena

English Area

Trainee Teacher: Miss Jocelyn

What are Comparative Adjectives?

Comparative adjectives are used to compare the difference between 2 nouns and they are followed by the word THANExample: Max is older than Mary

Spelling Rules Comparative Adjectives

• Adjectives of one syllable we add –er to the adjective

• Example: Cold – Colder The Antarctica is colder than Brazil

Tall - Taller Peter is taller than John

Peter John

• Adjective of one syllable with a CVC pattern, we double the consonant and add –er

• Example: big - bigger The blue fish is bigger than the red fish

sad - sadder The cloud is sadder than the sun

• Adjectives of two syllables that finish in “y” we change the “y” to “i” and add -er 

• Example: pretty - prettier Princess Aurora is prettier than Oliva

happy - happier The girl is happier than the boy

• Adjectives of two or more syllables we add the word more

• Example: famous =  more famousHannah Montana is more famous than Selena

interesting =  more interestingEnglish is more interesting than History

But there are certain exceptions

• Irregular adjectives: There isn´t any rule here, so you'll just have to remember them

• Example: good =  better bad =  worse

far = farther little = less

What are Superlative Adjectives?

• We use a superlative adjective to describe the extreme quality of one noun in a group of nouns.

• Example: Letter A is the biggest

A b c

Spelling Rules Superlative Adjectives

• Adjectives of one syllable we add before the adjective the word “THE” and we add –est to the adjective.

• Example: Cold – Coldest Pinguins live in the coldest place in the world

Tall - Tallest The giraffe is the tallest animal in the jungle

• Adjective of one syllable with a CVC pattern, we double the consonant and add –est

• Example: big  =  the biggest The Liberty Statue is the biggest

statue in the world

sad = the saddest

• Adjectives of two syllables that finish in “y” we change the “y” to “i” and add -est 

• Example: pretty =  the prettiest happy =  the happiest

busy = the busiest The woman is the busiest of all woman

• Adjectives of two or more syllables we add the most• Example: famous =  the most famous

Britney Spears is the most famous singer in USA

interesting =  the most interesting

But there are certain exceptions

• Irregular adjectives: There isn´t any rule here, so you'll just have to remember them

• Example: good = the best Roger Federer is the best tennis player in the

world

bad =  the worst far = the farthest little = the least

Activity

Choose the correct answer1. Our house is …………….than theirs.a. big b. bigger c. biggest2. I’m ……………… than my brothera. more taller b. the tallest c. taller3. The Grand Canyon is ………………..canyon in the

worlda. the longest b. longer c. the longer4. I am …………….. student in the classa. the goodest b. the best c. gooder5. I think that Mathematics is…………………………

than Englisha. More difficult b. difficulter c. difficult

bigger

taller

the longest

the best

more difficult

Activity 2

• Look at the picture• Compare the Donkey, Shrek, Princess and

Prince in the chart. • Write sentences using comparative and

superlative forms in your copybook. • Use the adjectives: tall,  short, beautiful,

ugly, good-looking, thin, fat, intelligent, young, old, romantic, strong

Donkey Shrek Princess Prince

Age

Weight

Height

Appearence

Intelligence

Romance

Power