Comparative adjectives, like ‘your’ and ‘his,‘ show who owns something. This blog explains these words with simple examples, making it easy for beginners. Learning about comparative adjectives helps you write better sentences and improve your English.
Comparative Adjective:
A comparative adjective is used to compare differences between two nouns. It highlights the degree or level of a particular quality in one noun compared to another. Comparative adjectives often end in -er for one-syllable adjectives, and for adjectives with two or more syllables, the word more or less is typically used before the adjective.
Examples:
- The elephant is bigger than the mouse.
- Sarah is more intelligent than John.
- This book is better than the one I read last month.
- The weather today is worse than yesterday.
- The store is farther/further away than I thought.
Types of Comparative Adjectives:
- Regular Comparative Adjectives
- Irregular Comparative Adjectives
- One-Syllable and Two-Syllable Adjectives
- Adjectives with Two or More Syllables
- Ending in -y Adjectives
- Adjectives Ending in -er, -ow, -le
- Adjectives with Three or More Syllables
Regular Comparative Adjectives:
Regular comparative adjectives are formed by adding the suffix -er to short adjectives or by using the word more before longer adjectives.
- The elephant is bigger than the mouse.
- She runs faster than him.
- John is taller than his sister.
- She is more happy today than yesterday.
- It’s getting more sad as the story unfolds.
Irregular Comparative Adjectives:
Irregular comparative adjectives do not follow the general pattern of adding -er or more to form the comparative degree. Instead, they have unique comparative forms.
- This book is good, but that one is better.
- Yesterday’s weather was bad, but today’s is worse.
- The store is farther/further away than I expected.
- She has less time today than she did yesterday.
One-Syllable and Two-Syllable Adjectives:
These adjectives consist of a single syllable. They are typically short and often describe basic qualities. When forming the comparative and superlative forms of one-syllable adjectives, we usually add -er for the comparative and -est for the superlative.
Examples:
- Tall (one syllable)
- Comparative: taller
- Superlative: tallest
- Fast (one syllable)
- Comparative: faster
- Superlative: fastest
- Big (one syllable)
- Comparative: bigger
- Superlative: biggest
Two-Syllable Adjectives:
These adjectives have two syllables. Forming their comparative and superlative forms can vary. For many two-syllable adjectives, especially those ending in -y, -le, -er, and -ow, we often add -er for the comparative and -est for the superlative. For others, we use more and most instead.
Examples:
- Happy (two syllables)
- Comparative: happier
- Superlative: happiest
- Simple (two syllables)
- Comparative: simpler
- Superlative: simplest
- Narrow (two syllables)
- Comparative: narrower
- Superlative: narrowest
- Honest (two syllables)
- Comparative: more honest
- Superlative: most honest
- Peaceful (two syllables)
- Comparative: more peaceful
- Superlative: most peaceful
Adjectives with Two or More Syllables:
Adjectives with two or more syllables often form their comparative degree by using the word more before the adjective.
- This book is more interesting than the one I read last month.
- The designer handbag is more expensive than the one I bought last year.
- The sunset is more beautiful than the sunrise.
- The new sofa is more comfortable than the old one.
Ending in -y Adjectives:
Adjectives that end in -y typically change the -y to -ier or -iest when they form the comparative and superlative degrees.
- Happy:
Comparative: Happier
Superlative: Happiest - Busy:
Comparative: Busier
Superlative: Busiest - Pretty:
Comparative: Prettier
Superlative: Prettiest - Easy:
Comparative: Easier
Superlative: Easiest
Adjectives Ending in -er, -ow, -le:
Adjectives that end in -er, -ow, and -le often change when forming their comparative forms.
- Tall → Taller
- Slow → Slower
- Gentle → Gentler
Adjectives with Three or More Syllables:
Adjectives with three or more syllables often use more in the comparative form.
Important
Comparative: More important
Example: This project is more important than the previous one.
Delicious
Comparative: More Delicious
Example: The homemade cake is more delicious than the store-bought one.
Comparative Adjectives Examples:
- The mountain trail is narrower than the wide forest path.
- Her laptop is more expensive than mine.
- This novel is more interesting than the one I read last week.
- Winter days are shorter than summer days.
- The cheetah is known for being the world’s fastest land animal.
- Learning a new language can be more challenging than expected.
- The red dress looks better on you than the blue one.
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