Comparative & Superlative -
    Adjectives of one syllable 1

Adjectives can have two additional forms to express degrees of modification: comparative and superlative.

Use the comparative form of an adjective when comparing one thing with another;
and the superlative form when comparing one thing with the rest (more than one) in the whole group.

Adjectives of one syllable

Adjective
Comparative
Superlative


add - er add - est
most adjectives tall
rich
poor
short
taller
richer
poorer
shorter
tallest
richest
poorest
shortest


add - r add - st
ends in -e late
fine
ripe
rare
nice
later
finer
riper
rarer
nicer
latest
finest
ripest
rarest
nicest


add final "c" then - er add final "c" then - est
ends with vowel
+ final consonant
fat
flat
big
sad
thin
slim
fatter
flatter
bigger
sadder
thinner
slimmer
fattest
flattest
biggest
saddest
thinnest
slimmest
Adjectives of two or more syllables | Irregular comparatives & superlatives


The word "the" precedes the superlative e.g., Jos is the fastest swimmer in her school.

Do not use "more" with a comparative adjective formed with -er (e.g., more fatter)
nor "most" with a superlative adjective formed with -est (e.g., most fattest).



1 Syllables are chunks of sound. All words have at least one syllable.
Examples: hot (1 syllable), happy (2 syllables) and beautiful (3 syllables).