Mrs. FB Kh

The Comparative And

Superlative OfAdjectives

What is an adjective

There are two types of adjectives

Regular adjectives

Irregular adjectives

Regular adjectives are divided into two groups

Short adjectives

Long adjectives

ContainOne

syllable

Contain two or more

syllables

What is a syllable

A syllable is the sound of a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) that is created when pronouncing a

word.The number of times that you hear the

sound of a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) is equal to the number of syllables the word has.

big

important

fast

horrible

happy

modern

One syllableOne vowel sound

/i/

One syllableOne vowel sound

/æ/Two

syllables

/æ/ /i/

/Ↄ/ /ə/Two

syllables

/i/ /Ↄ/ /ə/Three

syllables

/Ↄ/ /ə/ /ə/

Three syllables

Making ComparisonsThere are two forms of

comparisons

The comparative

The superlative

There are three forms of the comparative

The comparativ

e of inferiority

The comparativ

e of equality

The comparative

of superiority

Less….. than as………as more … than

...er than

The Comparative of SuperiorityIs used to compare between two items: people, animals, places or objects to say that one item has a

LARGER amount of quality than the other

The Comparative of Short Adjectives

For 1-syllable adjectives,

JUST add “er” to the end.Joe is a smart

boy.BUT

Tom is smarter than Joe.

Joe Tom

Adjective Comparative

Clean Cleaner

New Newer

Cheap Cheaper

Tall Taller

If the 1-syllable adjective ends with the letter “e,”

JUST add “r” to the end. Examples: nice------ nicer / wise-----wiser

Algeria is larger than

Egypt.

If the 1-syllable adjective has a C-V-C pattern,

Double the consonant and add “er.” 

consonant consonantvowel

July is hotter than June.

For adjectives with two syllables, ending in –y, DROP

the “y” and add “ier.”pretty--- prettierWho is

prettier Aishwaria

Rai or Katrina Kaif?

Adjective Comparative

Happy Happier

Funny Funnier

Dirty Dirtier

Healthy Healthier

The Comparative

of Long Adjectives

For adjectives that are 2 or more syllables,

use “more” + the adjective to make the comparative form.

Example: Adjective--- comfortable

How many syllables that it contain?

kəm(p)fə(rtə-bəl

1 2 3 4Travelling by plane is more comfortable than travelling by

train.

Adjective Comparative

Valauble more valuable

Beautiful more beautiful

Expensive more expensive

Active more active

Famous more famous

The Comparative of

Irregular Adjectives

Irregular ComparativesGood is an irregular adjective. In

the comparative form, it changes into BETTERSarah’s grades are better than

Mark’s grades.

Adjectives Comparatives

Good Better Bad Worse Far Farther / furtherOld Older/ elder

Much More ( uncountable

nouns)Many More (countable

nouns)A little Less

The Superlative

of Adjectives

The superlative is used to compare one item to more than two items: (people,

animals, places or objects) to say that one item has the largest amount of quality

than all the other items.

The Superlative of

Short Adjectives

For a one-syllable word, add the suffix –est to the word

Long-the longest / Sweet- the sweetestCool- the coolest / Rich- the richest

Smart- the smartest

Often times it is necessary to double the final consonant.

Big – the biggestHot- the hottestFat- the fattest

If the one syllable word ends with an “e”

you only need to add an - st.Fine- the finestNice- the nicest

Simple- the simplestIf a two-syllable word ends with a “y” then change the “y” into “i” and add -

est.Funny- the funniestHappy-the happiestPretty- the prettiest

The Superlative of

Long Adjectives

Words that contain two or three syllables are preceded by the word most Beautiful- the most beautiful

Famous- the most famousDangerous- the most dangerous

The peacock is the most beautiful bird in the world.

The Superlative of Irregular Adjectives

Ribery is a good

footballer.

Ronaldo is better

than Ribery.

Messi is better

than them all.

He is the best.

There are some adjectives that have irregular forms meaning that the superlative can’t be formed by adding the suffix -est or by using

the word most . Good----------- the best

Bad----------------the worstFar-----the farthest / the furthest

Old-----the oldest / the eldest