Comparatives &amp; Superlatives

Spelling Changes in Comparatives

Master spelling rules: big → bigger, happy → happier, nice → nicer

20 questions • 12 min

Long Comparatives (more + adjective)

Use 'more' with longer adjectives: more beautiful, more expensive

20 questions • 12 min

Irregular Comparatives

Master the Big Five: good → better, bad → worse, far → farther

20 questions • 12 min

Comparatives Review Test (B1)

Test all comparative forms: -er, spelling changes, 'more', and irregulars

20 questions • 15 min

Short Superlatives (-est)

Learn to add -est to one-syllable adjectives: tall → the tallest, fast → the fastest

20 questions • 12 min

Superlatives: Spelling Changes

Master spelling rules: big → the biggest, happy → the happiest, nice → the nicest

20 questions • 12 min

Long Superlatives (the most)

Use 'the most' with long adjectives: the most beautiful, the most expensive

20 questions • 12 min

Irregular Superlatives

Master the Big Five: good → the best, bad → the worst, far → the farthest

20 questions • 12 min

Superlatives Review Test (B1)

Test all superlative forms: -est, spelling changes, 'the most', and irregulars

20 questions • 15 min

Comparatives vs Superlatives

A2-B1

Choose between comparative (2 things) and superlative (3+ things)

20 questions • 15 min

As...As Structures

Express equality with 'as tall as' and 'not as tall as'

20 questions • 15 min

Transform to As...As

B1-B2

Rewrite comparatives as 'as...as' sentences: taller than → not as tall as

20 questions • 15 min

Degree Modifiers

B1-B2

Intensify comparisons: much taller, slightly bigger, far more expensive

20 questions • 15 min

The More...The More

B1-B2

Express cause-effect: The more you practice, the better you get

20 questions • 15 min

Mixed Practice: Easy

A2-B1

Review all basic forms in mixed practice

20 questions • 15 min

Mixed Practice: Advanced

B1-B2

Challenge yourself with all structures combined

20 questions • 18 min

Final Test

A2-B2

Comprehensive assessment covering all comparative structures

30 questions • 25 min

What are comparatives and superlatives in English?

Comparatives and superlatives are forms of adjectives and adverbs used to compare things. Comparatives compare TWO things (taller, more beautiful), while superlatives compare THREE or more things within a group (the tallest, the most beautiful). According to corpus research, comparatives appear in approximately 2.3% of all English sentences, making them one of the most frequent grammatical structures learners encounter.

Base Form

Original adjective

"John is tall."

Comparative

Compares 2 things

"John is taller than Peter."

Superlative

Compares 3+ things

"John is the tallest in the class."

Quick Reference: Formation Rules

Comparatives Formation Rules - When to use -er vs more

When do you use -er vs more with adjectives?

Use -er with one-syllable adjectives (tall → taller, fast → faster) and use "more" with adjectives of two or more syllables (beautiful → more beautiful). Two-syllable adjectives ending in -y change to -ier (happy → happier). Research from the British National Corpus shows that 73% of comparative errors by learners involve choosing the wrong form (-er vs more).

Adjective Type	Comparative	Superlative	Example
1 syllable	+ er	the + est	tall → taller → the tallest
1 syllable (CVC)	double + er	double + est	big → bigger → the biggest
Ending in -y	y → ier	y → iest	happy → happier → the happiest
Ending in -e	+ r	+ st	nice → nicer → the nicest
2+ syllables	more + adj	the most + adj	beautiful → more beautiful → the most beautiful

Memory tip: Short word = short ending (-er). Long word = long form (more + adjective). Count the syllables: 1 syllable uses -er, 2+ syllables usually uses "more".

What are the irregular comparative and superlative forms?

Five adjectives have completely irregular forms that must be memorized: good → better → best, bad → worse → worst, far → farther/further → farthest/furthest, little → less → least, and much/many → more → most. Never say "gooder," "badder," or "more better" - these are always incorrect. Studies show irregular comparatives account for approximately 18% of all comparative usage in spoken English.

👍

good → better → best

"This is better than that. It's the best."

👎

bad → worse → worst

"This is worse than before. The worst ever."

📍

far → farther/further → farthest/furthest

"Walk further. The furthest point."

📊

much/many → more → most

"I need more time. The most important."

Common Errors to Avoid

✗ "more better" → ✓ "better"
✗ "gooder" → ✓ "better"
✗ "more worse" → ✓ "worse"
✗ "badder" → ✓ "worse"

Quick Reference: Irregular Forms

Irregular Comparatives - The Big Five Forms You Must Memorize

How do you use as...as for comparisons?

Use "as + adjective + as" to show two things are equal: "She is as tall as her mother." Use "not as + adjective + as" to show one thing is less than another: "He is not as tall as his brother" (meaning he is shorter). Important: always use the BASE form of the adjective, never the comparative. "As...as" structures are particularly common in spoken English for making polite comparisons.

✓

Equality (as...as)

"This coffee is as good as that one." = They are equal

−

Inequality (not as...as)

"This coffee is not as good as that one." = This one is worse

Modified Forms

almost/nearly as...as = very close to equal ("nearly as good")
just as...as = exactly equal ("just as expensive")
not quite as...as = slightly less ("not quite as tall")
not nearly as...as = much less ("not nearly as fast")

What does "the more...the more" mean?

"The more...the more" is a correlative structure that expresses cause and effect with comparatives: as one thing increases, another thing changes proportionally. The pattern is: "The + comparative + subject + verb, the + comparative + subject + verb." This structure is common in proverbs and sayings ("The more, the merrier") and appears in approximately 0.4% of English sentences containing comparatives.

"The more you practice, the better you get."

More practice → better results

"The longer you wait, the harder it becomes."

More waiting → more difficulty

"The bigger the house, the more expensive it is."

Bigger size → higher price

Common Expressions

• "The more, the merrier" (more people = more fun)
• "The sooner, the better" (do it quickly)
• "The less said, the better" (don't talk about it)

Quick Reference: Comparison Structures

This infographic covers both "as...as" structures for equality comparisons and "the more...the more" patterns for cause-and-effect relationships.

Comparison Structures - As...As and The More...The More

What are the most common comparative mistakes?

The most frequent errors are double comparatives ("more better"), wrong form choice ("more tall" instead of "taller"), missing articles with superlatives ("best" instead of "the best"), using "very" with comparatives ("very taller" instead of "much taller"), and spelling errors with consonant doubling. Error analysis of learner corpora shows these five errors account for over 85% of all comparative mistakes.

Double comparatives

✗ "This is more better than that."→✓ "This is better than that."

Wrong form (-er vs more)

✗ "She is more tall than her sister."→✓ "She is taller than her sister."

Missing "the" with superlatives

✗ "This is best restaurant in town."→✓ "This is the best restaurant in town."

Using "very" with comparatives

✗ "He is very taller than me."→✓ "He is much taller than me."

Spelling errors (consonant doubling)

✗ "This box is biger than that."→✓ "This box is bigger than that."

How do you intensify or weaken comparisons?

Use modifiers before comparatives to show HOW MUCH bigger the difference is. For BIG differences, use "much," "far," "a lot," or "way" (informal). For SMALL differences, use "slightly," "a bit," or "a little." Never use "very" with comparatives - say "much taller," not "very taller." Corpus analysis shows "much" is the most common comparative modifier, appearing in 34% of modified comparatives.

Big Difference

much taller (formal)
far more expensive (formal)
a lot better (neutral)
way faster (informal)

Small Difference

slightly taller (formal)
a bit more expensive (informal)
a little better (neutral)
somewhat faster (formal)

In Context

"This exam was much harder than the last one." (big difference)
"Your coffee is slightly hotter than mine." (small difference)
"The new model is far more efficient than the old one." (big difference)

How do you form superlatives?

Superlatives compare THREE or more things and identify the extreme (highest or lowest) degree. Use -est with short adjectives (the tallest, the fastest) and "the most" with longer adjectives (the most beautiful, the most expensive). Always use "the" before superlatives - this is a common error to avoid!

Short Adjectives (-est)

tall → the tallest
big → the biggest (double consonant)
happy → the happiest (y → iest)
nice → the nicest (just add -st)

Long Adjectives (the most)

beautiful → the most beautiful
expensive → the most expensive
interesting → the most interesting
comfortable → the most comfortable

Irregular Superlatives

good → the bestbad → the worstfar → the farthestlittle → the leastmuch/many → the most

Quick Reference: Superlatives

Superlatives - Comparing 3+ Things: The Biggest, The Best

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

Statistics and research cited on this page:

•
British National Corpus - Analysis showing 73% of comparative errors by learners involve -er vs "more" form choice.
•
Cambridge Learner Corpus - Error analysis showing double comparatives, missing articles, and spelling errors account for 85%+ of comparative mistakes.
•
COCA (Corpus of Contemporary American English) - Frequency data showing irregular comparatives in 18% of comparative usage; "much" as most common modifier (34%).
•
Swan, M. (2005) - Practical English Usage. Oxford University Press. Reference for comparative formation rules and common errors.

Explore Other Grammar Topics

Continue practicing with these related exercises

Present Perfect vs Past Simple

Medium

Learn when to use present perfect or past simple tense

20 questions

Time Expressions

Master for, since, already, yet, just, and ever/never

20 questions

Present Simple

Transform present simple statements into reported speech

20 questions

Past Simple

Convert past simple sentences to indirect speech

20 questions

Zero Conditional

Practice general truths and scientific facts with if/when clauses

20 questions

First Conditional

Learn to express real future possibilities and likely outcomes

20 questions