Comparatives are words used to compare, of course. We use these words to show the difference between things.
There are two main ways of making comparatives:
- add -er to the end of a word
- use the word 'more'
Depending on which word you are using, you have to choose between these two ways.
Comparative Adjectives
When we are comparing adjectives, we have to first think about how many syllables the adjective has. Then, follow these rules:
| One Syllable | Two Syllables | Three or More Syllables | |
| add -er | ending in e or y | all other endings | use 'more' |
| add -er | use 'more' | ||
Here are some examples of words that are changed to become comparative.
| Adjective | Comparative | |
| One Syllable | small | smaller |
| rude | ruder | |
| big | bigger | |
| fat | fatter | |
| Two Syllables | simple | simpler |
| lazy | lazier | |
| careful | more careful | |
| famous | more famous | |
| Three or More Syllables | colourful | more colourful |
| intelligent | more intelligent | |
| important | more important | |
| delightful | more delightful |
When an adjective ends in y, to add -er you must first change the y to an i and add -er to the end.
If an adjective already ends in e, you only have to add r to the end.
When a one-syllable adjective ends in a vowel and then a consonant, like 'big' or 'fat', you must double the consonant first, before adding -er.
Comparative Adverbs
Just like with adjectives, you have to first think about how many syllables are in each word.
| One Syllable | Two or More Syllables |
| add -er | use 'more' |
Here are some examples of comparative adverbs.
| Adverb | Comparative | |
| One Syllable | fast | faster |
| hard | harder | |
| high | higher | |
| low | lower | |
| Two Syllables | quickly | more quickly |
| happily | more happily | |
| strongly | more strongly | |
| smoothly | more smoothly |
Notice that the same rules apply to adverbs regarding word endings and adding -er.
Irregular Comparatives
There are some adjectives and adverbs that are irregular. These do not follow the usual rules. Instead, the word changes when it becomes a comparative.
These are the two most commonly used.
| Adjective | Adverb | Comparative |
| good | well | better |
| bad | badly | worse |
There are also times when we want to use a comparative with a noun. This is easily done by using 'more' with either count or noncount nouns.
| Noun | Comparative |
| cat | more cats |
| table | more tables |
| water | more water |
| time | more time |
Notice that if you are making a count noun comparative, you have to add an s at the end of the comparative noun to make it plural.
Comparatives in Sentences
To make a sentence with comparatives, we have to use the word 'than' to compare between two things.
That girl is taller than all the other kids.
Are oranges sweeter than apples?
Jones laughed more loudly than his friend.