Resources
Lecciones de gramáticaLecturasEjercicios de listeningFlash cardsFalsos amigos¿Cuál usar?SufijosPrefijosDiscover your levelBlogComparativevsSuperlative
The comparative compares two things; the superlative designates the extreme in a group of three or more.
Side-by-side comparison
The comparative compares two things with each other. Formed with "-er" on short adjectives or "more" on longer ones: "bigger", "more important".
The second proposal was significantly more detailed than the first one, it addressed all the concerns raised in the initial review.
The new platform is faster and more reliable than the legacy system it replaced, response times have improved by 40%.
Working remotely is more challenging than it seemed at first, maintaining team cohesion requires a lot more intentional effort.
The superlative highlights one thing above all others in its group. Formed with "-est" or "most": "the biggest", "the most important".
This is the most complex project the team has taken on in the last three years, it touches every department in the organization.
She is widely recognized as the best negotiator on the team, she has closed more high-value deals than anyone else in the division.
The biggest challenge facing the industry right now is not the technology itself, but the pace of adoption among enterprise clients.
Common mistake
- •"More bigger" (double comparative) and "the most fast" (superlative with a 1-syllable adjective) are the most frequent errors. 1-syllable adjectives only use -ER/-EST. 2+ syllable adjectives only use MORE/MOST.
- •And for two elements use comparative, not superlative: "She is the BETTER of the two" (not "the best").
Trick to remember it
- •Syllable rule: 1 syllable = -ER/-EST (tall/taller/tallest). 2+ syllables = MORE/MOST. 2 syllables ending in -Y = -IER/-IEST (happy/happier/happiest).
- •Irregulars: good/better/best, bad/worse/worst.
Quick rule
- •Comparative: adj + -er or MORE + adj + than (two elements).
- •Superlative: THE + adj + -est or THE MOST + adj (three or more).
- •Irregulars: good/better/best, bad/worse/worst.
Did you know?
English has an interesting feature: some two-syllable adjectives accept both -ER/-EST and MORE/MOST, and both forms are correct: "cleverer" and "more clever" are equally valid. Other examples: "common", "gentle", "narrow", "simple", "quiet". Linguistic corpora show that in informal American English there is a growing tendency to use MORE/MOST even with two-syllable adjectives, suggesting a gradual simplification of the comparative system over time.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
She is _____ than her sister at maths. She always gets higher marks.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
She is the _____ student in the whole school. Nobody gets higher marks.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
'Good' is an adjective describing nouns; 'well' is an adverb describing verbs (and as an adjective means 'in good health').
'A' is used before consonant sounds; 'an' is used before vowel sounds.
'A lot of' works for countable and uncountable; 'many' only for countable; 'much' only for uncountable.
'According to' cites an external source; 'based on' indicates the evidence behind a claim.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy