Better, Best, and Beyond: Mastering Comparatives and Superlatives

Look at these three sentences and decide what is strange or missing about them: 1. 'Mount Everest is tall than K2.' 2. 'A cheetah is the fasttest animal on land.' 3. 'This coffee is more worse than yesterday's.' All three sentences are trying to compare things, but each one contains an error. Can you spot what has gone wrong? Think about the words that are used to show comparison. In this lesson, you will find out exactly how to get these comparisons right every time.

When you want to show that something has more or less of a quality than something else, you use a **comparative adjective**. When you want to say that something has the most or least of a quality among a group, you use a **superlative adjective**. **Rule 1 — Short adjectives (one syllable):** Add '-er' for the comparative and '-est' for the superlative. • tall → taller → the tallest • fast → faster → the fastest Spelling alert: if the adjective ends in a single vowel + single consonant, double the final consonant first. • big → bigger → the biggest • hot → hotter → the hottest **Rule 2 — Adjectives ending in '-y' (usually two syllables):** Drop the '-y' and add '-ier' or '-iest'. • happy → happier → the happiest • easy → easier → the easiest **Rule 3 — Longer adjectives (two or more syllables, not ending in '-y'):** Place 'more' or 'most' in front of the adjective. Do NOT add '-er' or '-est'. • interesting → more interesting → the most interesting • difficult → more difficult → the most difficult **Rule 4 — Irregular forms:** Some adjectives do not follow any of the rules above. You need to learn these by heart. • good → better → the best • bad → worse → the worst • far → farther (or further) → the farthest (or furthest) • little → less → the least • many / much → more → the most **Using comparatives in sentences:** Always use 'than' when you are comparing two things directly. • 'A dolphin is more intelligent than a goldfish.' • 'January is colder than March.' **Using superlatives in sentences:** Always use 'the' before a superlative. • 'The Sahara is the largest hot desert on Earth.' • 'This is the worst film I have ever seen.' **One common mistake to avoid:** Never use 'more' AND '-er' together, or 'most' AND '-est' together. Saying 'more taller' or 'most fastest' is a double comparative error.