3RD PARTIAL ACTIVITIES - LEVEL 4 comparative and superlative explanations

comparative and superlative explanations

 

Forming Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

 

One-syllable adjectives.

 

Form the comparative and superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding –er for the comparative form and –est for the superlative.

 

One-Syllable Adjective                 Comparative Form               Superlative Form

 

                 tall                                            taller                                        tallest

                 old                                            older                                        oldest

                long                                          longer                                       longest

 

· Mary is taller than Max.

· Mary is the tallest of all the students.

· Max is older than John.

· Of the three students, Max is the oldest.

· My hair is longer than your hair.

· Max's story is the longest story I've ever heard.

If the one-syllable adjective ends with an e, just add –r for the comparative form and –st for the superlative form.

 

One-Syllable Adjective with                    Comparative Form                         Superlative Form

               Final -e

                large                                                         larger                                              largest

                wise                                                          wiser                                               wisest

 

· Mary's car is larger than Max's car.

· Mary's house is the tallest of all the houses on the block.

· Max is wiser than his brother.

· Max is the wisest person I know.

If the one-syllable adjective ends with a single consonant with a vowel before it, double the  consonant and add –er for the comparative form; and double the consonant and add –est for the superlative form.

 

One-Syllable Adjective Ending with a             Comparative Form                 Superlative Form

Single Consonant with a Single Vowel

                     before It

 

                         big                                                          bigger                                       biggest

                         thin                                                        thinner                                       thinnest

                          fat                                                           fatter                                         fattest

 

· My dog is bigger than your dog.

· My dog is the biggest of all the dogs in the neighborhood.

· Max is thinner than John.

· Of all the students in the class, Max is the thinnest.

· My mother is fatter than your mother.

· Mary is the fattest person I've ever seen.

Two-syllable adjectives.

  

With most two-syllable adjectives, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.

 

Two-Syllable Adjective                       Comparative Form                     Superlative Form

 

           peaceful                                           more peaceful                               most peaceful

           pleasant                                            more pleasant                               most pleasant

            careful                                              more careful                                 most careful

          thoughtful                                        more thoughtful                            most thoughtful

 

· This morning is more peaceful than yesterday morning.

· Max's house in the mountains is the most peaceful in the world.

· Max is more careful than Mike.

· Of all the taxi drivers, Jack is the most careful.

· Jill is more thoughtful than your sister.

· Mary is the most thoughtful person I've ever met.

If the two-syllable adjectives ends with –y, change the y to i and add –er for the comparative form. For the superlative form change the y to i and add –est.

 

Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with -y          Comparative Form               Superlative Form  

                          happy                                                 happier                                    happiest

                          angry                                                  angrier                                     angriest

                           busy                                                    busier                                      busiest

 

· John is happier today than he was yesterday.

· John is the happiest boy in the world.

· Max is angrier than Mary.

· Of all of John's victims, Max is the angriest.

· Mary is busier than Max.

· Mary is the busiest person I've ever met.

Two-syllable adjectives ending in –er, -le, or –ow take –er and –est to form the comparative and superlative forms.

 

Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with             Comparative Form                Superlative Form

               -er, -le, or -ow

                      
                       clever                                          cleverer / more clever            cleverest /most clever

                       gentle                                                    gentler                                    gentlest

 

                       narrow                                                  narrower                                 narrowest

                   

                    

· Mary is cleverer/more clever than Jonny

· Mary is the cleverest/ most clever of all students the College.

 

· The roads in this town are narrower than the roads in the city.

· This road is the narrowest of all the roads in California.

· Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.

· Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.

Adjectives with three or more syllables.

  

For adjectives with three syllables or more, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.

 

Adjective with Three or More Syllables             Comparative Form             Superlative Form

  

                       generous                                               more generous                      most generous

                       important                                              more important                     most important

                       intelligent                                             more intelligent                    most intelligent

 

· John is more generous than Jack.

· John is the most generous of all the people I know.

· Health is more important than money.

· Of all the people I know, Max is the most important.

· Women are more intelligent than men.

· Mary is the most intelligent person I've ever met.

Exceptions.

Irregular adjectives.

Irregular Adjective                        Comparative Form                   Superlative Form

 

           good                                                better                                            best

            bad                                                 worse                                           worst

             far                                          Farther/further                        Farthest/furthest

            little                                                  less                                              least

            many                                                more                                           most

   

· Italian food is better than American food.

· My dog is the best dog in the world.

· My mother's cooking is worse than your mother's cooking.

· Of all the students in the class, Max is the worst.

Two-syllable adjectives that follow two rules. These adjectives can be used with -

 er and -est and with more and most.

Two-Syllable Adjective                    Comparative Form                         Superlative Form

  

              clever                                             cleverer                                             cleverest

              clever                                          more clever                                         most clever

               gentle                                              gentler                                              gentlest

               gentle                                          more gentle                                        most gentle

              friendly                                           friendlier                                           friendliest

              friendly                                        more friendly                                     most friendly                 quiet                                               quieter                                                 quietest

                quiet                                             more quiet                                            most quiet

               simple                                              simpler                                                simplest

               simple                                           more simple                                         most simple

· Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.

· Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.

· Big dogs are more gentle than small dogs.

· Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the most gentle.

AS + ADJECTIVE + AS

To compare people, places, events or things, when there is no difference, use as + adjective + as:

 

· Peter is 24 years old. John is 24 years old. Peter is as old as John.

· Moscow is as cold as St. Petersburg in the winter.

· Einstein is as famous as Darwin.

· A tiger is as dangerous as a lion.

The use of Less

Adjectives which form the comparative with the adverb more may also be used in a similar way with the adverb less. Less and more have opposite meanings.

Less ... Than

The following examples illustrate the use of adjectives preceded by less and

followed by than.

e.g. Arnold is less confident than Charles is.

The red bicycle is less expensive than the blue one.

The first example indicates that Arnold possesses a smaller degree of confidence

than Charles does. The second example indicates that the red bicycle has a lower

cost than the blue one.

Not As ... As

In informal English, the following construction is often used:

positive

not as + form of + as

adjective

e.g. He is not as clever as his brother.

For adjectives which form the comparative with more, either the construction less ... than or the construction not as ... as may be used. The construction not as ... as is somewhat less formal than the construction less ... than.

For instance, the two sentences in each of the following pairs have the same meaning.

 

e.g. Formal: The red bicycle is less expensive than the blue one.

Informal: The red bicycle is not as expensive as the blue one.

Formal: Arnold is less confident than Charles is.

Informal: Arnold is not as confident as Charles is.

Look at these two sentences ,they have similar meanings.

 

e.g. This chair is not as soft as that one.

This chair is harder than that one.

He is not as old as his sister.

He is younger than his sister.