Comparative &Amp_ Superlative Adjectives

VOCABULARY

Strong

Weak

TallShort

Slow

Fast

Heavy

Light

Beautiful

Ugly

Boring Funny

Big

Small

Empty Full

High

Low

Wet

Dry

Close

Far

Long

Short

Old

New

Easy

Hard

Dark Bright

Clean

Dirty

COMPARATIVES

We compare two objects, animals or people . We use an adjective or a noun .

We can divide adjectives in 4 groups:

Short adjectives Adjetives ending in “y” Long adjectives Irregular adjectives

Short Adjectives + -er (+ than) We add - er

Example: tall taller

When short adjectives end in vowel+consonant, we need to double the last consonant.

Example:

big = bigger hot = hotter

NOTE 1: Letters w, x, and y do are not doubled.

Adjectives ending in “y” change into -ier (+ than) We change the “y” into “i” and add -er

Example: Heavy = Heavier

Easy = Easier

Ugly = Uglier

Short adjectives = Adjective + (I)ER THAN

If the adjective or adverb has just one syllable, the comparative form used is –(I)ER + THAN.

Examples:

Carlos is taller than Jose. (tall)

Maria is thinner than Fabiola. (thin)

Brazil is bigger than Chile. (big) The elephant is heavier than the hippo.

(heavy)

Long adjectives = MORE + Adjective (+ than)

If the adjective or adverb has two or more syllables, the comparative form used is MORE + adjective + THAN.

Examples:

Carlos is more handsome than Jose. (handsome)

Maria is more beautiful than Fabiola. (beautiful)

Susan is more intelligent than Raul. (intelligent)

This horse runs more rapidly than that one. (rapidly)

Irregular Adjectives

The following adjectives are exceptions to the rule.

Adjective Comparative

good better

bad worse

far farther (A.E.)

further (B.E.)

One syllable adjetives

BIG SMALL

BRIGHT DARK

CLEAN DIRTY

COLD HOT

FAST SLOW

FAT THIN

HIGH LOW

LARGE SMALL

LONG SHORT

NEW OLD

NICE Nasty/horrible

SOFT HARD

SWEET BITTER

TALL SHORT

THICK THIN

OLD YOUNG

Two syllable adjectives

busy Free

Dirty Clean

Easy Difficult

Friendly Unfriendly

Funny Dull

happy Sad

Heavy Light

Lazy Hardworking

Pretty Ugly

crazy Sensible

sunny cloudy

3 or more syllables

ArtisticAttentiveAttractiveBeautiful

ComfortableDangerous

DelicateDeliciousDifficult

EfficientElegant

ExpensiveGenerousImportantIntelligentInterestingObedientPopular

Examples: A laptop is more modern than a desktop computer.

An electronic translator is better than a dictionary.

Play Time Talk about the following pictures and create comparative

sentences. Use the adjectives shown below.

modern – pretty – old – new – elegant

Complete the sentences writing the adjectives in their comparative form.

1.- Mexico City is ____________________________ than Monterrey. (Dangerous)

2.- Thalia is __________________________ than Paulina Rubio. (Good)

3.- My father is __________________________ than yours. (Tall)

4.- That house is ________________________ than this one. (Comfortable)

5.- Laura is __________________________ than Karla. (Intelligent)

Complete the sentences writing the adjective in comparative form.

6.- Mathematics is ________________________ than English. (Difficult)

7.- An elephant is ________________________ than a horse. (Heavy)

8.- Pizzas are ___________________ to prepare than hamburgers. (Easy )

9.- My little brother is ______________________ than me. (Short)

10.- These jeans are __________________ than those shorts. (big)

An Ipod is more modern than a CD player.

A digital camera is more expensive than a mobile phone with a camera included.

SUPERLATIVES

We use the superlative to outstand an object, animal or people in a group. We use the following words with an adjective. We can divide them in 4 groups, like the comparatives.

THE + adjective +(I)EST THE MOST + adjective

Short adjectives adjective + -est We write The before the adjective and add –est at the end.

Example: small the smallest short the shortest

Some short adjectives ending in consonant+vowel need to double the last consonant.

Examples: big = the biggest hot = the hottest NOTE 1: Letters w, x, and y are not doubled.

Adjectives ending in “Y”

We write THE before the adjective. Then, change “y” into “i” and add –est. Examples:

heavy = the heaviest

ugly = The ugliest

Short Adjectives = THE + Adjective +(I)EST

If the adjective or adverb has just one syllable, the comparative form used is – (I)EST.

Example. Carlos is the tallest boy in the class. (tall)

Maria is the thinnest in the group. (thin)

Mexico City is the biggest city in the world. (big)

The cheeta is the fastest animal in the world. (fast)

Long adjectives the most + adj We write THE MOST before the adjective.

Example: beautiful = The most beautiful

wonderful = the most wonderful

handsome = the most handsome

Irregular adjectives

The following adjectives are exceptions to the rule:

Adjective Superlative

good the best

bad the worst

far the farthest/ the furthest

Complete the following chart

Comparative Superlative Tall ____taller than_________ ____the tallest______ fat _____________________ __________________

good _____________________ __________________

beautiful _____________________ __________________

happy ____________________ __________________

dangerous _____________________ __________________

intelligent _____________________ __________________

easy _____________________ __________________

Fatter than

More beautiful than

Easier than

More intelligent than

More dangerous than The most dangerous

Happier than The happiest

The most beautiful

The best

The fattest

Better than

The most intelligent

The easiest

Complete the following chart

Comparative Superlative bad ________________ _________________

Lazy ________________ _________________

Boring ________________ _________________

Difficult ________________ _________________

far ________________ _________________

ugly ________________ _________________

worse than

More boring than

More difficult than

Further than

uglier than The ugliest

The most difficult

The most boring

The laziest

The worst

lazier than

The furthest

Complete with the superlative form. a b c

1.- Which is the most friendly A, B or C? ________________________________________________________ 2.- Which is the heaviest A, B or C?

________________________________________________________

3.- Which is the smallest A, B, or C? ________________________________________________________

4.- Who is the most beautiful actress in Chile ? ________________________________________________________

5.- Which is the easiest: Mathematics, Biology or Physical Education? ________________________________________________________