COMPARISON OF SUPERIORITY AND SUPERLATIVE

When comparing two things we use the comparative:

      John is taller than Mark

When comparing more than two things, we use the superlative:

      John is the tallest in his family
      Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world

short words (1 syllable):

Comparatives add -ER and superlatives add -EST
     old  older  oldest
     fast  faster  fastest
Words ending in -e drop it
     late  later  latest
     fine  finer  finest
Words ending in -y change it to -i
     shy  shier  shiest
Words ending in one single syllable followed by one single consonant, double the final consonant when the vowel is stressed: -1V+1C --> -CC
     fat  fatter  fattest
     slim  slimmer  slimmest
 
long words (3 or more syllables):

They use MORE for the comparative and THE MOST for the superlative.
 
     intelligent  more intelligent  the most intelligent
 
2-syllable words:

They can use both forms, but we prefer More/the Most
     
     handsome  more handsome the most handsome
     cheerful  more cheerful  the most cheerful
 
Nevertheless, words ending in -y and some adjectives such as: quiet, clever y narrow usually take -er/-est
     easy  easier   the easiest
     happy  happier  the happiest
     clever  cleverer   the cleverest
 
But if they end in -ly, they use more/most (except: early)
     quickly  more quickly  the most quickly
     slowly  more slowly  the most slowly
     early  earlier  the earliest