Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Rule Title

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Category

Sentence Structure

Rule Explanation

Comparatives and Superlatives

Comparatives and superlatives are forms of adjectives used to compare two or more things.

Short Adjectives (1–2 syllables)

• Comparative: Add -er to the adjective.
  • Examples: tall → taller, big → bigger
• Superlative: Add the -est to the adjective.
  • Examples: tall → the tallest, big → the biggest

Long Adjectives (3+ syllables)

• Comparative: Use more before the adjective.
  • Example: beautiful → more beautiful
• Superlative: Use the most before the adjective.
  • Example: beautiful → the most beautiful

Irregular Forms

Some adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms:

Base Form	Comparative	Superlative
good	better	best
bad	worse	worst
far	farther/further	farthest/furthest
little	less	least
many/much	more	most

Double Comparatives

Used to show that one thing is dependent on another.

• Structure: The + comparative, the + comparative
• Example: The more you study, the better you perform.

Correct Example

• She is taller than her sister.
• He is the most intelligent student in the class.
• The worse the situation, the more we must act.

Incorrect Example

• She is more tall than her sister. (For short adjectives, use the '-er' form: taller)
• He is the most best student. (Do not use 'most' with an already superlative irregular adjective like 'best')

More from Grammar Quick Reference