Tuesday 11 February 2014

Comparative and Superlative



Comparative and Superlative

1. One syllable adjectives:
Comparative:  + er  : smaller
Superlative: + est :  the smallest
2. One syllable adjectives ending in 'e': brave
Comparative: + r : braver
Superlative:  + st : the bravest
3. One syllable adjectives ending in consonant - vowel - consonant: big
Comparative: add consonant + er : big +g+ er = bigger
Superlative: add consonant + est : the + big + g+ est = the biggest
4. Two syllable adjectives ending in 'y': happy
Comparative:  delete “ y”  and add  -ier : happier
Superlative: delete “y”  and add --iest : the happiest
5. Two or more syllable adjectives: interesting
Comparative: add “more” to adjective: more interesting
Superlative: add “the most” to adjective: the most interesting
Summary:
Comparative and superlative of adjectives

Adjective
Comparative
Superlative
One-syllable adjectives   
old
long
older
longer
the oldest
the longest
Adjectives ending in one vowel and one consonant
big
hot
bigger
hotter
the biggest
the hottest
Adjectives ending in
-y
ugly
noisy
uglier
noisier
the ugliest
the noisiest
Adjectives with two or more syllables   
expensive
beautiful
more expensive
more beautiful
the most expensive
the most beautiful
6. Irregular adjectives
Irregular adjectives
good
better
the best
bad
worse
the worst
far
farther/further
the farthest/furthest
Use:
1. We use comparatives to compare two things.
Samir is taller than Ali.
Reading a book is more interesting than watching TV.
My car is faster than my friend's car.
2. We use superlatives to compare one thing with the rest of the group it belongs to.
Farid is the tallest in the class.
Fatima is the best student in our class.
My father’s car is the most expensive car in the world