COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES

 

How to form comparative and superlative adjectives

We usually add –er and –est to one-syllable words to make comparatives and superlatives:

old	older	oldest
long	longer	longest

If an adjective ends in –e, we add –r or –st:

nice	nicer	nicest
large	larger	largest

If an adjective ends in a vowel and a consonant, we double the consonant:

big	bigger	biggest
fat	fatter	fattest

If an adjective ends in a consonant and –y, we change –y to –i and add –er or –est:

happy	happier	happiest
silly	sillier	silliest

We use more and most to make comparatives and superlatives for most two syllable adjectives and for all adjectives with three or more syllables:

careful	more careful	most careful
interesting	more interesting	most interesting

However, with these common two-syllable adjectives, you can either add –er/–r and –est/–st or use more and most:

common cruel gentle handsome likely

narrow pleasant polite simple stupid

He is certainly handsomer than his brother.
His brother is handsome, but he is more handsome.
She is one of the politest people I have ever met.
She is the most polite person I have ever met.

The adjectives good, bad and far have irregular comparatives and superlatives:

good	better	best
bad	worse	worst
far	farther/further	farthest/furthest