Comparatives and superlatives. You know, when I was young, I didn’t understand the difference between than & then. I was never taught that in grade school, so I would constantly make mistakes over and over until I finally figured out, within the past 5 years, that than is used when comparing something.
The superlative forms are easy, but it’s the comparatives that throw my students off. So, let’s get into this.
- Long —— longer —— longest
2. Big ——- bigger ——- biggest
3. Funny ——- funnier ——- funniest
4. Popular ——— more popular ——— the most popular
5. Good ——- better ——– best
Rules
- One-syllable adjectives, add er
- One-syllable adjectives which end in one vowel + one consonant, double the last consonant and add er
- Two=syllable adjectives ending in y, omit y and add ier
- Adjectives with two syllables or more, use more/most + the adjective
- Irregular adjectives have no set rule
Practice
Use the rules above to write the comparative and superlative form of these adjectives.
Crazy
Bad
Boring
Short
Sad
Practice II
Complete these sentences with the comparative form of the adjectives given and than.
- Traveling to Mongolia is _____________ (good) than traveling to Thailand.
- The News is _______________ (bad) reality TV.
- Watching movies in the theatre is _______________ (exciting) than watching them at home.
- Underground comedians are _________________(funny) than Kevin Hart.
- The Burj Khalifa is ____________(high) than the Empire State Building.
Practice III
Complete the questions with the superlative form of the adjectives given.
- What is _____________________(interesting) way to spend your free time?
- What is _____________________(difficult) day of the week for you?
- Who is _____________________(funny) person you’ve ever met?
- Who is _____________________(positive) person you know?
- What is _____________________(good) part of your day?
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