Comparative and superlative adjectives

A comparative adjective shows that one person or thing has more or less of a quality than another. Start with the thing you are describing, then a verb such as is or are, then the comparative. Use than to introduce the other side of the comparison.

You can leave out the than phrase when the comparison is already clear. A shopper looking at two bags can choose the cheaper one without naming both again. You can also compare something now with the same thing at an earlier time, rather than compare two different objects.

Most adjectives with one syllable, or one spoken beat, add -er for the comparative and -est for the superlative. Tall becomes taller and tallest; cheap becomes cheaper and cheapest. The adjective keeps the same form whether it describes one item or several.

Choose the ending from the meaning. Taller makes a comparison; the tallest points to the member with the greatest height in a group. Do not add more to a form that already has comparative -er, or most to a form that already has superlative -est.

When a short adjective already ends in e, add only -r or -st. Large becomes larger and largest, and nice becomes nicer and nicest. The final e already supplies the vowel you need before r or st.

For a one-syllable adjective ending in one vowel letter followed by one consonant letter, often double the final consonant: big becomes bigger and biggest, while hot becomes hotter and hottest. Do not double final w, x or y; low becomes lower and lowest. A word such as cheap already has two vowel letters together, so its p stays single.

For common two-syllable adjectives ending in a consonant plus y, change y to i before adding -er or -est. Easy becomes easier and easiest. Happy becomes happier and happiest. Busy follows the same pattern.

Keep the meaning separate from the spelling. Easier says that something requires less effort than another thing; the easiest identifies the least difficult option in a group. The -ier and -iest forms here are the usual everyday choices, rather than easyer or easyest.

Use more before many two-syllable adjectives, such as careful, and before longer adjectives such as expensive and interesting. For a superlative, use most. Keep the adjective itself unchanged: more expensive and most expensive have no -er or -est ending.

Two-syllable adjectives do not all follow one rule. Words ending in consonant plus y often use the endings you just learned. Some others, such as narrow, allow both narrower and more narrow, and both narrowest and most narrow. When a word is unfamiliar, check its forms in a learner's dictionary.

Good and bad change to different words when you compare them. Good becomes better for a comparison and best for the top position in a group. Bad becomes worse and worst. These forms already carry the comparison, so do not add more to better or most to best.

For distance, far can become farther or further, and farthest or furthest. Both sets can describe physical distance. Choose one clear comparison at a time, and include the group or other location when the reader needs it.

Use a superlative when you identify the person or thing with the greatest or smallest degree of a quality in a group. The group may be all the rooms in a hotel or all the bags you are considering. Use the before the superlative in the usual noun phrase, such as the smallest room.

In can name a place or group, while of can introduce a set such as of the three bags. A word such as my can replace the before the superlative; do not put the after it. If the group is already clear, you do not need to repeat it, but avoid a claim that sounds wider than you mean.

Use as, the ordinary adjective, and as when two things have an equal degree of a quality. Keep the adjective in its base form: as tall as, as useful as or as expensive as. This pattern does not take a comparative -er or more.

Not as ... as says that the first thing has less of the named quality than the second. Pay attention to the adjective: not as cheap means a higher price, while not as expensive means a lower price. The order of the two things matters.

Less before an adjective expresses a lower degree of that quality. With a longer adjective, less expensive is a natural way to say that one price is lower than another. Add than when you name the other option. For many short adjectives, an opposite comparative is more natural: shorter is usually clearer than less tall.

Least identifies the lowest degree of a quality in a group. The least expensive option has the lowest price; the most expensive has the highest. Keep the adjective unchanged after less and least, and check that the direction of the comparison matches the facts.