Your car is lifted higher than mine.
Comparative Adjectives
We can compare nouns with adjectives. One way to do this is with an adjective's comparative form. Look at some more examples of comparative adjectives:
Hot
Yesterday was hot, but today is hotter.
Busy
I'm busy, but Janet is busier.
Expensive
My car cost a lot, but I think this car is more expensive.
As you can see, there are different kinds of comparative adjectives. Let's learn the rules:
Adjectives with One Syllable
Adjectives with one syllable take er in their comparative form:
| Hot | Cold | Big | Warm | Old | Fast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comparative | hotter | colder | bigger | warmer | older | faster |
Adjectives Ending in "y"
If an adjective ends with the letter y, we usually change the y to ier for its comparative form:
| Easy | Busy | Pretty | Happy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comparative | easier | busier | shinier | happier |
Adjectives with Two or More Syllables
If an adjective has two or more syllables, we do not change the adjective. Instead, the comparative form is made with the adjective and the word more:
| Crowded | Interesting | Excited | Boring | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comparative | more crowded | more amazing | more excited | more jealous |
Exceptions
For some adjectives, both er or more can be used to make the comparative form. Both ways are okay:
| Friendly | Simple | Quiet | Clear |
|---|---|---|---|
|
more friendly friendlier |
more simple simpler |
more quiet quieter |
more clear clearer |
Irregular Adjectives
Some adjectives have irregular comparative forms:
| Good | Bad / Badly | Far | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comparative | better | worse | farther / further |
Than
We can use than after comparatives:
My brother's car is older than my car.
Fuzzy dice are more useless than other car accessories?
The weather today is better than yesterday's.
After than, we can use nouns, like pizza, or object pronouns, like me. Sometimes after than, English speakers say nouns or pronouns with auxiliaries, like I am:
You are better than me / I am.
This road is more curved than a normal road / a normal road is.
I think I am smarter than you / you are.
Superlative Adjectives
We use the superlative form of an adjective to compare three or more things:
He is the best student in the class.
The biggest country in the world is China.
February is the shortest month of the year.
The rules for making superlative adjectives are very similar to comparative adjectives. Instead of er, use the...est, and for more..., use the most...:
Adjectives with One Syllable
| Hot | Cold | Big | Warm | Old | Fast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| the hottest | the coldest | the biggest | the warmest | the oldest | the fastest |
Adjectives Ending in "y"
| Easy | Busy | Pretty | Happy |
|---|---|---|---|
| the easiest | the busiest | the prettiest | the happiest |
Adjectives with Two or More Syllables
| Crowded | Interesting | Excited | Boring |
|---|---|---|---|
| the most crowded | the most interesting | the most excited | the most jealous |
Irregular Adjectives
| Good | Bad | Far |
|---|---|---|
| the best | the worst | the farthest / furthest |
We can use the superlative form without a noun:
Highway 85 is very long, but it isn't the longest in the world.
This car’s technology is the best!
Exercise
Open the exercise to begin the activity. Follow the instructions in the document.