Comparatives and Superlatives in English

Apuntes

• Subtopic: Introduction to Comparatives and Superlatives Comparatives and superlatives are used to compare things. A comparative compares two things, while a superlative compares one thing to all the others in the same group. For example, "A dog is faster than an elephant" is a comparative, and "The horse is the fastest of the three animals" is a superlative. • Subtopic: One-Syllable Adjectives For adjectives with one syllable ending in -e, such as "nice" and "strange," the comparative form is created by adding -r (e.g., "nicer," "stranger"), and the superlative form is created by adding -st (e.g., "the nicest," "the strangest"). For example, "Harry is nicer than Frank," and "Dean is the nicest." For one-syllable adjectives with a consonant + short vowel + consonant pattern, such as "big" and "hot," double the last consonant and add -er for the comparative form (e.g., "bigger," "hotter") and -est for the superlative form (e.g., "the biggest," "the hottest"). For instance, "Monday was hotter than Sunday," and "Tuesday was the hottest day." • Subtopic: Common Exceptions Some adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms. For example, "good" becomes "better" in the comp...