Comparative adjectives
When you need to compare two different nouns, you would need to use comparative adjectives! Take for example a pretty coffee table, and an ugly lunch table for family of 6: The coffee table is more beautiful than the family table, but the family table is bigger than the coffee table. As you see they are different, let's explore how this is made!
Table of Contents
1.Comparative forms
1.1Than
After a comparative adjective we often use than
| Example |
|---|
| I am happier than Tomas |
| This house is more beautiful than mine! |
| I like this salad more than the one from the restaurant |
Practice Examples
My sister is older _____ me.
He runs faster _____ most people in his team.
This house is bigger _____ mine.
2.Small adjectives
2.1-er ending
When you use small adjectives like: old, small, and calm; you just need to add -er to them in order to compare two things.
| Adjective | Comparative form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| old | older | My father is older than my mother |
| strong | stronger | Dwayne Jhonson is stronger than John Cena |
| small | Smaller | My house is smaller than this one! |
Practice Examples
My cousin is (smart) _____ this year.
The red shirt is (cheap) _____ than the blue one.
The mountain path is (steep) _____ than I thought.
2.2Doubling consonants
When you have an adjective that ends with Consonant Vowel and a Consonant, for short CVC, you double the last consonant!
| Adjective | Comparative form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| big | bigger | My house is bigger than yours |
| hot | hotter | This summer is much hotter than the previous one |
| fit | fitter | Jacke is fitter than me |
Practice Examples
It's (hot) _____ in Spain than in the Netherlands.
The weather is (hot) _____ in the desert.
The red cat is (fat) _____ than the blue cat.
3.Long adjective
3.1Using "more"
When the adjective is more than one syllable long, you need to use "more".
| Adjective | Comparative form | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| interesting | more interesting | Tolkien's books are more interesting than Harry Potter |
| careful | more careful | You need to be more careful |
| stressed | more stressed | Amire is now more stressed than last month |
Practice Examples
The mountain is (beautiful) _____ than the hill.
The new smartphone is (expensive) _____ than the old model.
His story is (fantastic) _____ than hers.
4.Exceptions
4.1Irregular adjectives
When you want to use irregular adjectives for comparison, be careful, they change their form differently from all other!
| Adjective | Comparative form | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| good | better | He is still in hospital, but he is better than he was last week. |
| bad | worse | She is feeling worse than yesterday |
| far | farther/further | My car can travel farther than yours My friend lives further than my grandpa |
| many/much | more | I need more apples |
| little | less | There are less cookies, than before! |
Practice Examples
John is (good) _____ than Sam in sports.
I need (little) _____ help with this task.
We need (little) _____ sugar for this recipe.
4.2two-syllable adjectives ending with "y"
The name sounds scary, but really these adjectives are easy to use and can be found practically everywhere, even in this explanation, they are used twice, can you find them? Basically, when a two syllable (with two vowel sounds) ends with "y", before adding ending -er, change the "y" for "i"!
| Adjective | Comparative form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| scary | scarier | This movie is scarier than the last one |
| happy | happier | I am happier than ever |
| ugly | uglier | Lunch table is *uglier than the coffeee table |
Practice Examples
This book is (boring) _____ than the last one.
The situation is (shiny) _____ now.
The movie was (funny) _____ than I thought.
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