Intro

Comparative adjectives compare things or people. This is a comparison between two nouns, so we compare one with the other. For example, "This apple is bigger than that apple." Notice that the adjective ends in "er" and is followed by "than": bigger than. Superlative adjectives compare one thing or person with all other things or people in the group. Therefore, it's a comparison of a noun with other nouns in a group. For example, "This apple is the biggest." Notice that we use the article "the" followed by the adjective ending in "est".

There are several rules that we need to follow when forming comparative adjectives or superlative adjectives. These depend on the letter in the word or the number of syllables.

Rules

For one-syllable adjectives, the rule is to add "er" when forming the comparative adjective and "est" when forming the superlative adjective. For example, "strong": the comparative adjective is "stronger", so we add "er" to the end, and the superlative adjective is "strongest"; we add "est" to the end.

For adjectives with a consonant, short vowel, consonant spelling, the final letter is doubled before adding the ending. For example, "big": the comparative adjective would be "bigger", so we've doubled the final letter "g" and add the ending "er". The superlative adjective is "biggest"; again, we double the final letter and add the ending "est".

For one-syllable adjectives ending in the letter "e", we remove the letter "e" and add the endings "er" or "est". For example, "large": the comparative adjective is "larger", the superlative adjective is "largest".

For two-syllable adjectives ending in the letter "y", we remove the letter "y" and add the letter "i" before the ending. For example, "happy": the comparative adjective is "happier", so as you can see, we've replaced the letter "y" with the letter "i" and added the ending "er". Again, I've replaced the letter "y" with the letter "i" and added "est": happiest.

For adjectives with two syllables, there are two ways in which we can form the comparative or superlative adjective. When forming the comparative, we can put the word "more" before the adjective. However, in some cases, we can just add "er" to the end, depending on the adjective. For example, "gentle": the comparative adjective is "gentler" or "more gentle". So both are correct to use. When forming the superlative adjective, we can put the word "most" before the adjective. However, in some cases, we can just add the ending "est". For example, "gentle" becomes "gentlest" or "most gentle". This may sound confusing; however, if you're unsure of which form to use, the safer option is just to add "more" or "most" before the adjective.

For adjectives with three or more syllables, we form the comparative by inserting "more" before the adjective. For example, "expensive" becomes "more expensive". A common mistake is to add "er": "expensiver", however, this is incorrect. We say "more expensive". When forming the superlative adjective, we insert "most" before the adjective: "most expensive".

Lastly, there are some irregular forms which don't follow the rules. For example, "good" becomes "better", "best"; "little" becomes "less", "least".

Now let's go through each rule with example sentences. For one-syllable adjectives, the rule is to add "er" when forming the comparative and "est" when forming the superlative adjective. For example, "Adam is stronger than Sam." Here, I'm comparing two people. "Kelly is the strongest." Here, I'm comparing one person with a group of people. It's important to remember that we always use "than" after the comparative adjective because we're comparing two people. The article "the" is always used before the superlative adjective.

For adjectives with a consonant, short vowel, consonant spelling, the final letter is doubled before adding the ending. There are five vowels in English: A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y. The adjective "big" has a consonant, vowel, consonant spelling. "My house is bigger than Ali's house." "Fatima's house is the biggest."

For one-syllable adjectives ending with the letter "e", we remove the letter

 "e" and add the endings "er" or "est". For example, "The elephant is larger than the cat." "The whale is the largest animal."

For two-syllable adjectives ending in the letter "y", we remove the letter "y" and add "i" before the ending "er" or "est". For example, "Jason is happier than Sarah." "Jasmine is the happiest."

For adjectives with two syllables, there are two ways we can form the comparative or superlative. So, as we can see from the example, when forming the comparative, we can add "er" or we can insert "more" before the adjective. So, "gentle" becomes "gentler" or "more gentle". When forming the superlative, we can add "est" to the end or insert "most" before the adjective. So, "gentle" becomes "gentlest" and "most gentle". For example, "Cats are gentler than dogs." "Cats are more gentle than dogs." "Cats are the gentlest animals." "Cats are the most gentle animals." Again, just to remind you that if you're unsure of which form to use, the safer option is just to add "more" or "most" before the adjective.

For adjectives with three or more syllables, we can form the comparative by inserting "more" before the adjective. For example, "more expensive". When forming the superlative, we add "most" before the adjective: "most expensive". For example, "My laptop is more expensive than my phone." "My house is the most expensive thing I've bought."

Lastly, there are some irregular forms which don't follow the rules. For example, "good" becomes "better", "best"; "little" becomes "less", "least". "I am a better dancer than Sam." "Sanja is the best at cooking."