Comparative and Superlative Adjectives/ Adverbs

We use comparative adjectives to describe the difference between two nouns, for example:

• I am taller than John. 
• Spain is hotter than Ireland. 
• Champagne is more expensive than wine. 

We use comparative adverb forms to describe the difference between two actions, usually by adding ‘ly’ to an adjective (slowly). For regular adverbs we must use more or less to describe these differences. 

• My wife drives more carefully than I do. 
• Children read less frequently these days. 
• The number of members has increased rapidly. 

**** Irregular adverbs include:

     Good  = Well       fast = fast         hard = hard         late = late

We generally use Superlative adjectives for describing one of a number of things (the best student, the highest mountain, the most common). 

To make the comparative and superlative form for adjectives depends on how many syllables in that adjective, see the chart below for an overview of some examples of each category of adjective. 

The chart also contains the three main irregular adjectives (good, bad, far) and their forms. 

Common mistakes when using the Comparative and Superlative. 

1. His car is more faster than mine. (If adding er, we don’t need more) 
2. Yesterday was warmer then THAN today. (Careful with then and THAN)
3. My house is not so AS clean as yours. (Remember: AS + adjective + AS)
4. Paris is the more MOST beautiful city in the world. (we generally compare just two things, for three or more we should use the superlative form)

Other important points about Comparative and Superlative

1. More and less

More – We use more with longer adjectives with two or more syllables. 

We also use more with two syllable adjectives ending in ‘y’, although we should really say ….. ‘healthier …’, we often use ‘more healthy’ instead. 

More can also come at the end of the sentence, this often when the comparison is obvious and clear to both speakers, for example:

“I think that one costs a lot more.”

Less –  We use less as the opposite of more when making a comparison, it is less commonly used than more, as we can often use more with the opposite adjective. For example:

“Your watch is more expensive than mine” = “My watch is cheaper than yours”

Note – we also use both of these to show not much different! (“It’s more or less the same thing!”)

2. Most and least

Most is used in the same as more for superlative adjectives with two syllables or more. Also in the same way, we might use it with two syllable adjectives ending in ‘y’. 

Least is used in the same way as less for superlative adjectives. Also, there are many common phrases with least, including:

• At least we don’t have to wait too long.   (Pointing out something good)
• There will be at least 500 people there.   (minimum)
• That’s the least of our problems. (not important, of lowest importance)
• It’s the least I could do.    (Often said when helping people)
• Last but not least, we have John!   (last in a list but still important!)
• It was uncomfortable to say the least! (not going further/ being polite)

3. BE + (not) as + adjective + as

An important alternative for the comparative form is using the structure above. It is quite uncommon to use it without ‘not’, as we are usually describing things which are not the same. For example:

John is taller than Tom = Tom is not as tall as John. 

It wasn’t as bad as I had expected! 

4. Comparing adverbs 

When comparing adverbs, we must use more/ less and add ‘ly’ to the adjective. For example: 

You should drive more slowly.            He speaks more quickly. 

It works less effectively.                      It doesn’t work as effectively.     

Note – there are some irregular adverbs which change form,

including: good = well,    bad – wrong/ wrongly

There are some adverbs which remain the same as adjectives, 

including : fast = fast,  far = far,   late = late,   early = early,   daily = daily

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