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Comparative and superlative adjectives – article

Type: Reference material




She’s more intelligent than her sister.

This is a bigger piece of cake.


He’s the most intelligent man I’ve ever met.
This is the biggest piece of cake.

Some rules about forming comparatives and superlatives

1. One syllable adjectives generally form the comparative by adding -er and the superlative by adding -est, e.g.

softsofterthe softest
cheapcheaperthe cheapest
sweetsweeterthe sweetest
thinthinnerthe thinnest
  • Note that if a one-syllable adjective ends in a single vowel letter followed by a single consonant letter, the consonant letter is doubled, e.g. thin - thinner/thinnest, big - bigger/biggest.
  • If an adjective ends in -e, this is removed when adding -er/-est, e.g. wide - wider/widest.
  • If an adjective ends in a consonant followed by -y, -yis replaced by -iwhen adding -er/-est, e.g. dry - drier/driest.

2. More and most are sometimes used with one-syllable adjectives as an alternative to the -er/-est form when we particularly want to emphasize the comparison, or if the adjective occurs with another adjective which has more than one syllable, e.g.


That sofa might look nice, but this one is more soft and comfortable.

luckyluckierthe luckiest
prettyprettierthe prettiest
tidytidierthe tidiest




worriedmore worriedthe most worried
boringmore boringthe most boring
carefulmore carefulthe most careful
uselessmore uselessthe most useless

4. Two-syllable adjectives ending in -ed, -ing, -ful, or -less always form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.





narrownarrower/more narrowthe narrowest/most narrow
simplesimpler/more simplethe simplest/most simple
quietquieter/more quietthe quietest/most quiet

As a general rule, most other two-syllable adjectives also form comparatives and superlatives with more and most, apart from those ending in -y (see point 3 above). However, a few two-syllable adjectives can take either -er/-est or more/most. Here are three examples.



dangerousmore dangerousthe most dangerous
difficultmore difficultthe most difficult
excitingmore excitingthe most exciting
ridiculousmore ridiculousthe most ridiculous

5. Adjectives which have three or more syllables always form the comparative and superlative with more and most.




unhappyunhappierthe unhappiest/most unhappy
unfriendlyunfriendlierthe unfriendliest/most unfriendly

The only exceptions are some three-syllable adjectives which have been formed by adding the prefix un- to another adjective, especially those formed from an adjective ending in-y. These adjectives can form comparatives and superlatives by using more/most or adding -er/-est.

goodbetterthe best
badworsethe worst
farfarther/furtherthe farthest/furthest

6. The following adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms:


The adjectives ill and well, describing bad and good health, have irregular comparative forms. The comparative of ill is worse, and the comparative of well is better, e.g. She’s feeling much better/worse today.

The usual comparative and superlative forms of the adjective old are older and oldest. However, the alternative forms elder and eldest are sometimes used. Elder and eldest are generally restricted to talking about the age of people, especially people within the same family, and are not used to talk about the age of things, e.g.

It’s the oldest/*eldest castle in Britain.

Elder cannot occur in the predicative position after link verbs such as be, become, get, e.g.

We’re all getting older/*elder.

My brother is older/*elder than me.

7. Comparatives and superlatives of compound adjectives are generally formed by using more andmost, e.g.

Going skiing was the most nerve-wracking experience I’ve had.

good-lookingbetter-lookingthe best-looking
long-lastinglonger-lastingthe longest-lasting
low-paidlower-paidthe lowest-paid

Some compound adjectives have a first element consisting of an adjective which would normally form a comparative or superlative in one word, either by adding -er/-est, or by an irregular form. Such compound adjectives can, therefore form a comparative/superlative by using these changes to the first adjective, rather than by using more/most.


Mussels are my most favourite food.


Use of comparatives


a more intelligent child

the bigger piece of cake


The street has become quieter since they left.

You should be more sensible.


John is taller than me.

I think that she’s more intelligent than her sister.


I think the portions were bigger than they were last time.
They had given a better performance than in previous years.

Comparatives are often qualified by using words and phrases such as much, a lot,far, a bit/little, slightly, e.g.

You should go by train, it would be much cheaper.

Could you be a bit quieter?

I’m feeling a lot better.

Do you have one that’s slightly bigger?


The smaller the gift, the easier it is to send.



The sea was getting rougher and rougher.

Her illness was becoming worse and worse.

He became more and more tired as the weeks went by.

Use of superlatives


It is the most delicious chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten.
Annabel was the youngest.
This restaurant is the best.


Annabel was the youngest child.
Annabel was the youngest of the children.

This restaurant is the best in town.


This offer is the best I’m going to get.

Note that if the superlative occurs before the noun, in the attributive position, the in or ofphrase or relative clause comes after the noun, eg.

The best restaurant in town.

The best offer I’m going to get.


This one seems to be cheapest.

However, the cannot be left out when the superlative is followed by an of/inphrase, or a relative clause indicating the group of people or things being compared, e.g.

This one is the cheapest.

This one is cheapest.

This one is the cheapest of the new designs.

* This one is cheapest of the new designs.

This one is the cheapest I could find.

*This one is cheapest I could find.


my youngest brother

her most valuable piece of jewellery


It’s the third largest city in the country.

The cathedral is the second most popular tourist attraction.

In informal conversation, superlatives are often used instead of comparatives when comparing two things. For example, when comparing a train journey and car journey to Edinburgh, someone might say: the train is quickest, rather than: the train is quicker. Superlatives are not generally used in this way in formal speech and writing.

The opposite of comparative and superlative forms


This sofa is less comfortable.

I’ve always been less patient than my sister.


It’s the least expensive way to travel.

She was the least intelligent of the three sisters.

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