Making

comparisons using

the comparativeBY ROBERT BERRY

“”

Comparative is used to

show difference between

2 things or 2 people or

groupsThe lion is larger than a cat.

He is stronger than his brother.

She is more beautiful than a model.

For one syllable adjectives such as

rich, poor, old, young you would

make the comparative by adding

the letters er to the adjective used

so those adjectives would become:

richer, poorer older younger.

He is rich but his brother is richer.

That man is poor, but the other

man is poorer.

Julia is old, but her friend is older.

Liz is young, but her sister is younger.

If you have a one or two syllable

adjective that ends in the letter e

such as nice cute large, then you

form the comparative by adding

only the letter r not er. Then those

adjectives become nicer cuter

larger

Going to the park is nice, but going

to Disneyland is nicer.

Bart is a cute dog, but Ruff is cuter.

Her truck is large, but his truck is larger.

If you have a one or two syllable

adjective that ends in the letter y

such as happy crazy messy or dry

then you would drop the letter y

and the add ier to make it

comparative. Those adjectives

become: happier crazier messier

and drier.

Eva is happy, but Sally is happier.

He is crazy, but she is crazier.

John’s room is messy, but Sam’s

room is messier.

Arizona is dry, but the Atacama desert is

drier.

If you have an adjective that is two

syllables or longer such as beautiful

careful dangerous or difficult, then do

not add er but instead put the word more

in front of the adjective. beautiful=

more beautiful careful = more careful

dangerous= more dangerous and

difficult = more difficult

Swimming with sharks is dangerous, but

swimming with alligators is more dangerous.

A rainbow is beautiful, but a sunset

is more beautiful.

He is careful, but the other man is

more careful.

Learning English is difficult, but

learning Chinese is more difficult.

Some adjectives don’t follow the er rule

and change spelling when they are used

in the comparative: good changes to

better bad changes to worse far

changes to farther little changes to less

and much/many changes to more.

Argentina is a good soccer team,

but Mexico is better.

Having a flat tire is bad, but losing a

wheel is worse.

He has a little food, but she has less.

Sheila has many shoes, but Samantha has

more.

Another way to make comparison

with adjectives is to use as….as or

than. When using the comparative

as… as the adjective does not

change.

When you use than the adjective

changes use the same rules you

just learned.

He is as tall as his friend.

He is taller than his friend.

The shark is as long as the boat.

The whale is longer than the boat.

The Corvette is as fast as the Mustang.

The Porsche is faster than the Corvette.

Her home is expensive, but his is

more expensive.

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1

Lulu has a big teacup, but Dana

has a bigger teacup

Rebecca gets up early, but Jane

gets up earlier.

Lisa is beautiful but her sister is more

beautiful.

Rob is busy but Ruth is busier.

She is a calm person but he is calmer.

He gets angry with his wife then she

gets angrier.

Crossing the river is dangerous, but feeding

a crocodile is more dangerous.

This gorilla is big, but King Kong is bigger.

This girl is dirty but the other girl is ………

He has a terrible tattoo, but his friend has a

tattoo that is ………….

32 degrees is cold weather but

minus 15 degrees is ………….

That land looks dry but the desert

looks ………….

That bicycle is small but the other

one is …………..

The race car is very fast, but the jet is much

…………..

Aimee is hot in the sun, but Lucy is

…………..

This hot dog is long but that hot

dog is …………..

This woman is very scary and the

other woman is ………..

This man is very tall but that man is

……………….

Lilly is 6 years old and is ……….. but her

brother Will is 1 year old and is ………….

Using the superlative

Superlative is used with adjectives

to show or describe an object

which is at the upper or lower limit

of a quality.

It is used in a sentence where the

subject is compared to a group of

objects.

For example: Hip Hop music is loud,

rap is louder, and heavy metal is

loudest.

For one syllable adjectives such as

rich, poor, old, young you would

make the superlative by adding

the letters est to the adjective used

so those adjectives would become:

richest, poorest oldest youngest.

He is rich, his brother is richer, but he is

richest

That man is poor, the other man is

poorer, but the last one is poorest

Julia is old, her friend is older, but Carmen is

oldest.

Liz is young, her sister is younger, and her

brother is youngest.

If you have a one or two syllable

adjective that ends in the letter e

such as nice cute large, then you

form the superlative by adding only

the letters st not est. Then those

adjectives become nicest cutest

largest

Going to the park is nice, going fishing is

nicer, but going to Disneyland is nicest.

Bart is a cute dog, Ruff is cuter, and Nipper

is cutest.

Their truck is large, her truck is larger, but

his truck is largest.

If you have a one or two syllable

adjective that ends in the letter y

such as happy crazy messy or dry

then you would drop the letter y

and the add iest to make it

superlative. Those adjectives

become: happiest craziest

messiest and driest.

Eva is happy, Sally is happier, but

Linda is happiest.

Ted is crazy, Lulu is crazier, but Jack

is craziest.

John’s room is messy, Sam’s room is

messier, and Bill’s room is messiest.

Arizona is dry, the Atacama desert is drier,

and the Sahara desert is driest.

If you have an adjective that is two

syllables or longer such as beautiful

careful dangerous or difficult, then do

not add er but instead put the word most

in front of the adjective. beautiful= most

beautiful careful = most careful

dangerous= most dangerous and

difficult = most difficult

Swimming with sharks is dangerous,

swimming with alligators is more dangerous,

and swimming with piranha is most

dangerous.

A flower is beautiful, a rainbow is

more beautiful, and a sunset is

most beautiful.

Phil is careful, the other man is more

careful, but Alex is most careful.

Learning Arabic is difficult, learning English is

more difficult, and learning Chinese is most

difficult.

Some adjectives don’t follow the est rule

and change spelling when they are used

in the superlative: good changes to best

bad changes to worst far changes to

farthest little changes to least

and much/many changes to most.

Argentina is a good soccer team, Brazil is

a better team, but Mexico is best.

Having a flat tire is bad, losing a

wheel is worse, but crashing a car is

worst.

They have a little food, he has less

food, but she has the least food.

Sheila has many shoes, Samantha has

more, and Debbie has most.

This glass is full, that glass is …… and

the last glass is ……..

Ed is fat, Jim is ……… and Tim is ……

…………

Emma is strong, Bill is ….. and Tom is ……

Ralph is skinny, they are …… and Gia is …..

Sandy is dirty, Lana is ….. and Becky is ……