Comparatives & Superlatives
Compare two or more things correctly.
Comparatives
Use comparatives to compare two things. Short adjectives add -er, long adjectives use 'more'.
- bigger than
- more expensive than
- This car is faster than that one.
Superlatives
Use superlatives to compare three or more things, showing the extreme. Short adjectives add -est with 'the', long adjectives use 'the most'.
- the biggest
- the most expensive
- She is the tallest in her class.
Irregular forms
Some adjectives are irregular and must be memorized.
- good → better → the best
- bad → worse → the worst
- far → farther → the farthest
Using 'as...as' for equal comparisons
To say two things are equal, use 'as + adjective + as'. To say they are not equal, use 'not as + adjective + as'.
- She is as tall as her brother.
- This test wasn't as hard as I expected.
- My phone is as fast as yours.
More examples in context
Comparatives and superlatives appear constantly in everyday speech and writing.
- This city is much bigger than my hometown.
- He is the fastest runner on the team.
- That was the most boring movie I've ever seen.
- Is gold heavier than silver?
- She speaks more clearly than her sister.
- This is the cheapest option we found.
Common mistakes to avoid
These are frequent comparative and superlative errors, and how to correct them.
- ✗ This is more bigger. → ✓ This is bigger. (don't combine -er with 'more')
- ✗ She is the most tallest. → ✓ She is the tallest. (don't combine -est with 'most')
- ✗ He is more good than me. → ✓ He is better than me. ('good' is irregular)
- ✗ This is the goodest movie. → ✓ This is the best movie.
Quick practice
Choose the correct comparative or superlative form, then check your answer.
- This backpack is ___ (light) than that one. (answer: lighter)
- It's ___ (interesting) film of the whole festival. (answer: the most interesting)
- My brother is ___ (young) than me. (answer: younger)
- This was ___ (bad) day of my life. (answer: the worst)
- Is Mount Everest ___ (high) mountain in the world? (answer: the highest)