COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES English grammar Learn the rules with examples

comparative adjectives compare things or people this is comparison between two nouns so we compare one with the other for example this apple is bigger than that apple notice that the adjective ends in and is followed by than bigger than superlative adjectives compare one thing or person with all other things or people in the group therefore it's comparison of noun with other nouns in group for example this apple is the biggest notice that we use the article the followed by the adjective ending in est there are several rules that we need to follow when forming comparative adjectives or superlative adjectives these depend on the letter in the word or the number of syllables for one-syllable adjectives the rule is to add when forming the comparative adjective and est when forming the superlative adjective for example strong the comparative adjective is stronger so we add to the end and the superlative adjective is strongest we add est to the end for adjectives with consonant short vowel consonant spelling the final letter is doubled before adding the ending for example big the comparative adjective would be bigger so so we've doubled the final letter and add the ending the superlative adjective is biggest again we double the final letter and add the ending est for one syllable adjectives ending in the letter we remove the letter and add the endings or est for example large the comparative adjective is larger the superlative adjective is largest for two syllable adjectives ending in the letter we remove the letter and add the letter before the ending for example happy the comparative adjective is happier so as you can see we've replaced the letter with the letter and added the ending again i've replaced the letter with the letter and added est happiest for adjectives with two syllables there are two ways in which we can form the comparative or superlative adjective when forming the comparative we can put the word more before the adjective however in some cases we can just add to the end depending on the adjective for example gentle the comparative adjective is gentler or more gentle so both are correct to use when forming the superlative adjective we can put the word most before the adjective however in some cases we can just add the ending est for example gentle becomes gentlest or most gentle this may sound confusing however if you're unsure of which form to use the safer option is just to add more or most before the adjective for adjectives with three or more syllables we can form the comparative by inserting more before the adjective for example expensive becomes more expensive common mistake is to add expensive however this is incorrect we say more expensive when forming the superlative adjective we insert most before the adjective most expensive lastly there are some irregular forms which don't follow the rules for example good becomes better best little less least now let's go through each rule with example sentences for one syllable adjectives the rule is to add when forming the comparative and est when forming the superlative adjective for example adam is stronger than sam here i'm comparing two people kelly is the strongest here i'm comparing one person with group of people it's important to remember that we always use than after the comparative adjective because we're comparing two people the article the is always used before the superlative adjective for adjectives with consonant short vowel consonant spelling the final letter is doubled before adding the ending there are five vowels in english and sometimes the adjective big has consonant vowel consonant spelling my house is bigger than ali's house fatima's house is the biggest for one syllable adjectives ending with the letter we remove the letter and add the endings or est for example the elephant is larger than the cat the whale is the largest animal for two syllable adjectives ending in the letter we remove the letter and add before the ending or est for example jason is happier than sarah jasmine is the happiest for adjectives with two syllables there are two ways we can form the comparative or superlative so as we can see from the example when forming the comparative we can add or we can insert more before the adjective so gentle becomes gentler or more gentle when forming the superlative we can add est to the end or insert most before the adjective so gentle becomes gentlest and most gentle for example cats are gentler than dogs cats are more gentle than dogs cats are the gentlest animals cats are the most gentle animals again just to remind you that if you're unsure of which form to use the safer option is just to add more or most before the adjective for adjectives with three or more syllables we can form the comparative by inserting more before the adjective for example more expensive when forming the superlative we add most before the adjective most expensive for example my laptop is more expensive than my phone my house is the most expensive thing i've bought lastly there are some irregular forms which don't follow the rules for example good better best am better dancer than sam sanja is the best at cooking you