Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Adjectives are often used to compare nouns or pronouns. These comparative adjectives have three forms that show greater or lesser degrees of quality, quantity, or manner: positive, comparative, and superlative. Below are examples of comparative and superlative adjectives.

POSITIVE

small
slow
hard
silly
busy
fast
soft
funny
short
bright
fine
brave
clean
sharp
high
pure

COMPARATIVE

smaller
slower
harder
sillier
busier
faster
softer
funnier
shorter
brighter
finer
braver
cleaner
sharper
higher
purer

SUPERLATIVE

smallest
slowest
hardest
silliest
busiest
faster
softer
funniest
shortest
brightest
finest
bravest
cleanest
sharpest
highest
purest

Positive Form

The positive degree, or basic form, describes a noun or pronoun without comparing it to any other. (Do not confuse positive with good. In this context, positive simply means "possessing the quality." The quality itself may be good, bad, or neutral.)

  • Dan is tall.
  • Bananas are tasty.
  • Ms. Hoo is busy.
  • Zeus is strong.
  • Athena is smart.
  • Bacchus is lazy.
  • James is silly.
  • The soldier is brave.
  • Oliver Ellsworth is eloquent.

Comparative Form

The comparative form compares two persons, places, or things.

  • Dan is taller than Tina.
  • Are bananas tastier than apples?
  • Ms. Hoo is busier than Ms. Lu.
  • Zeus is stronger than Athena.
  • Is Athena smarter than Zeus?
  • Bacchus is lazier than Pan.
  • James is sillier than John.
  • The soldier is braver than I am.
  • Is Oliver Ellsworth more eloquent than Mr. Johnson?

Superlative Form

The superlative form compares three or more persons, places, or things.

  • Of all the students, Dan is the tallest.
  • Are bananas the tastiest of all the fruits?
  • Ms. Hoo is the busiest of the four teachers.
  • Of Zeus, Athena, and Bacchus, Zeus is the strongest.
  • Athena is the smartest of the three.
  • Bacchus is the laziest of all the Greek gods.
  • James is the silliest of the four brothers.
  • That soldier is the bravest in the army.
  • Is Oliver Ellsworth the most eloquent of all?

Examples 1

We practice using comparative and superlative adjectives correctly Choose the correct adjective for each sentence.

  1. My cat is (fat, fatter, fattest) than yours.
  2. Of the three, Krystal is the (wise, wiser, wisest).
  3. Jo is the (fast, faster, fastest) of the two runners.
  4. Of all the characters, Tim was the (funny, funnier, funniest).
  5. Samantha is the (tall, taller, tallest) of the two players.
  6. My house is (old, older, oldest) than yours.
  7. Scamp, the Siamese cat, is (spunky, spunkier, spunkiest) than Kit Kat, the Himalayan.
  8. Jaime seems (perky, perkier, perkiest) than Hector.

Solutions

Here we show the correct use of comparative and superlative adjectives:

  1. My cat is fatter than yours. We use the comparative form because we are comparing cats.
  2. Of the three, Krystal is the wisest. We use the superlative form because we are comparing three or more people.
  3. Jo is the faster of the two runners. We use the comparative form because we are comparing only two.
  4. Of all the characters, Tim was the funniest. We use the superlative form because we are comparing three or more characters.
  5. Samantha is the taller of the two players. We use the comparative form because we are comparing two players.
  6. My house is older than yours. We use the comparative form because we are comparing two houses.
  7. Scamp, the Siamese cat, is spunkier than Kit Kat, the Himalayan. We use the comparative form because we are comparing only two cats.
  8. Jaime seems perkier than Hector. We use the comparative form because we are comparing only two people.

Forming Comparison Adjectives

How we create the comparative and superlative adjective depends on how the adjective appears in its positive form. There are three main categories to remember.

One-Syllable Adjectives

We create the comparative form of most one-syllable adjectives by adding er to the end of the word. The superlative form is created by adding est.

POSITIVE

red
proud
large
green
brave
light

COMPARATIVE

redder
prouder
larger
greener
braver
lighter

SUPERLATIVE

reddest
proudest
largest
greenest
bravest
lightest

Two-Syllable Adjectives

Most adjectives with two or more syllables do not have comparative or superlative forms. Instead, we use the word "more" (or "less") before the adjective to form the comparative, and the word "most" (or "least") to form the superlative.

POSITIVE

genteel

timid

reliable

loyal

valuable

trustworthy

diligent

responsible

bellicose

explicit

stoic

COMPARATIVE

more genteel
less genteel

more timid
less timid

more reliable
less reliable

more loyal
less loyal

more valuable
less valuable

more trustworthy
less trustworthy

more diligent
less diligent

more responsible
less responsible

more bellicose
less bellicose

more explicit
less explicit

more stoic
less stoic

SUPERLATIVE

most genteel
least genteel

most timid
least timid

most reliable
least reliable

most loyal
least loyal

most valuable
least valuable

most trustworthy
least trustworthy

most diligent
least diligent

most responsible
least responsible

most bellicose
least bellicose

most explicit
least explicit

most stoic
least stoic

Two-Syllable Adjectives that end in y

When a two-syllable adjective ends in y, we create the comparative and superlative adjective forms by changing the y to i and adding er or est.

POSITIVE

crazy
scratchy
happy
lovely
friendly
noisy
sleepy
cozy
foggy

COMPARATIVE

crazier
scratchier
happier
lovelier
friendlier
noisier
sleepier
cozier
foggier

SUPERLATIVE

craziest
scratchiest
happiest
loveliest
friendliest
noisiest
sleepiest
coziest
foggiest

Exceptions

There are exceptions to these guidelines. Below are a few examples of two-syllable adjectives whose comparative and superlative adjective forms are created by adding er or est.

POSITIVE

little (size, not amount)
quiet
stable
yellow
clever
simple
narrow

COMPARATIVE

littler
quieter
stabler
yellower
cleverer
simpler
narrower

SUPERLATIVE

littlest
quietest
stablest
yellowest
cleverest
simplest
narrowest

Spelling Reminders

When adding er or est to create comparative and superlative adjectives, we often must alter the word's original spelling. We apply the same rules we use when adding ed to form a past-tense verb.

Examples 2

Complete the comparison chart by adding the comparative and superlative  adjectives for each positive form.

POSITIVE

  1. long
  2. dull
  3. mighty
  4. beautiful
  5. big
  6. tame
  7. sweet
  8. harsh
  9. risky
  10. obvious
  11. wet
  12. fine
  13. smart
  14. windy
  15. fantastic
  16. pure
  17. flat
  18. smart
  19. whiny
  20. nostalgic

COMPARATIVE

____________
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____________

SUPERLATIVE

____________
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Solutions

POSITIVE

  1. long
  2. dull
  3. mighty
  4. beautiful
  5. big
  6. tame
  7. sweet
  8. harsh
  9. risky
  10. obvious
  11. wet
  12. fine
  13. smart
  14. windy
  15. fantastic
  16. pure
  17. flat
  18. (r) smart
  19. (s) whiny
  20. (t) nostalgic

COMPARATIVE

longer
duller
mightier
more beautiful
bigger
tamer
sweeter
harsher
riskier
more obvious
wetter
finer
smarter
windier
more fantastic
purer
flatter
smarter
whinier
more nostalgic

SUPERLATIVE

longest
dullest
mightiest
most beautiful
biggest
tamest
sweetest
harshest
riskiest
most obvious
wettest
finest
smartest
windiest
most fantastic
purest
flattest
smartest
whiniest
most nostalgic