Comparatives and Superlatives Adjectives, Definition and Example Sentences

Comparatives and Superlatives Adjectives, Definition and Example Sentences

Comparatives and Superlatives Examples

Comparative and superlative structures are used when comparing English adjectives. They are very widely used terms both in everyday life and written English. Learning these structures is crucial to comprehend English.

Comparatives

Comparatives are used to compare two things based on more or less concepts. If the word has one syllable, like ‘slow’, this word takes ‘-er’ at the end and the word ‘than’ is put before the other compared word.

It is slower than other cars

If your adjective has two syllables and ends with “-y”, the letter “–y” is dropped while making a comparative, and the letters “–ier” come instead.

She is happier than Lucy.

If the word has two or more syllables, the phrase ‘more’ is brought before the adjective, and “than” is put after the adjective. For example, “intelligent” is a 4-syllable word.

He is more intelligent than Sam.

Superlatives

Superlatives are used to compare two or more things based on most or least concepts. In this comparison rule, if the word is monosyllabic, the suffix ‘-est’ is put at the end of this word, and ‘the’ is put at the beginning of the word.

He is the tallest of all.

If your adjective is short, that is, it has two syllables but ends with the letter -y, the letter -y is dropped, and the “-iest” is added to the end of the adjective.

I am the happiest person in the world right now.

If the word has two or more syllables, this time the phrase “the most” is put at the beginning of the word.

This chair is the most expensive one.

There are some exceptional words in superlatives and comparatives. These can be listed as follows:

• good- better than- the best
• bad- worse than- the worst
• little- less than- the least
• far-farther than-the furthest

Here are some other superlative and comparative examples:

• The success rate of the class was lower than last year. (Comparative)
• He sang the song better than the others. (Comparative)
• This is the coldest place in the country. (Superlative)
• He was running faster than you. (Comparative)
• This restaurant is the most delicious one in the whole city. (Superlative)
• Because she worked harder, Cassie became the top of her class. (Comparative)
• I think the most difficult subject of English grammar was the Perfect Tense. (Superlative)
• This year’s exam questions were more difficult than last year. (Comparative)
• Jonathan is the smartest in the class, only he can answer this question. (Superlative)
• The most popular sport in America is basketball. (Superlative)

 

• People have become more conscious of healthy eating in recent years. (Comparative)
• The worst movie team I have watched is The Conjuring. (Superlative)
• Betty is hungrier than Becky. (Comparative)
• Gasoline vehicles are cheaper than diesel vehicles. (Comparative)
• Science is more difficult than Literature. (Comparative)
• New York is more crowded than Chicago. (Comparative)
• The tallest boy in the class was sitting in the back. (Superlative)
• John was the tallest in the class and Nate was the weakest. (Superlative)
• A novel is longer than a story. (Comparative)
• Harvard University is one of the most successful universities in the world. (Superlative)