1 PSA Information Sheet #1
2 5/7/10
Market Leader: Pre-Intermediate
Comparatives and Superlatives are special forms of adjectives. They are used to compare two or more things. Generally, comparatives are formed using -er and superlatives are formed using -est. This page will explain the rules for forming regular comparatives and superlatives, and also show some basic ways of using them.
1 1. Forming regular comparatives and superlatives
How these forms are created depends on how many syllables there are in the adjective. Syllables are like “sound beats”. For instance, “sing” contains one syllable, but “singing” contains two — sing and ing. Here are the rules:
|Adjective form |Comparative |Superlative |
|Only one syllable, ending in E. Examples: wide,|Add -r: wider, finer, cuter |Add -st: widest, finest, cutest |
|fine, cute | | |
|Only one syllable, with one vowel and one |Double the consonant, and add -er: hotter, |Double the consonant, and add -est: hottest, |
|consonant at the end. Examples: hot, big, fat |bigger, fatter |biggest, fattest |
|Only one syllable, with more than one vowel or |Add -er: lighter, neater, faster |Add -est: lightest, neatest, fastest |
|more than one consonant at the end. Examples: | | |
|light, neat, fast | | |
|Two syllables, ending in Y. Examples: happy, |Change y to i, then add -er: happier, sillier,|Change y to i, then add -est: happiest,...