Comparison of Adjectives
Read the sentences below:
What would you like for dinner? Pizza or a salad?
I think I would like a salad. It’s lighter than pizza.
Which movie did you like most? “Solace” or “Donnie Darko”?
I liked “Donnie Darko” most, it was more interesting than “Solace”.
♦ For short adjectives (one syllable or two-syllable words that end in -y) add –er to form the comparative.
short – shorter
big – bigger (we double the last consonant for words that end in consonant+vowel+consonant if the last syllable is stressed)
easy – easier (“y” changes in “i” when a word ends in a consonant + y before the ending “-er”)
♦ For long adjectives (two syllables or more) we use more to form the comparative.
beautiful – more beautiful
expensive – more expensive
We also use more for adverbs that end in -ly such as:
slowly – more slowly
loudly – more loudly
Study the example below:
Mark is the tallest boy I have ever known.
Maria is the most beautiful girl in our class.
The superlative form is the + adjective + est for short adjectives or the + most + adjective for long adjectives.
A few adjectives are irregular:
good – better – the best
bad – worse – the worst
far – further – the furthest