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Adjectives and adverbs can be used to make comparisons. When we compare things in English, we use two main forms.
The comparative form is used to compare two things and to show that one has more of a quality or trait over the other.
The superlative form with the word “the” is used to compare three or more and to show that one has the highest degree of a quality or trait.
Adjective
Comparative Form Adjective + “-er”
Superlative Form “the” + Adjective + “-est”
small
My house is smaller than yours.
My house is the smallest on the street.
fast
The red car is faster than the blue car.
The red car is the fastest car in the race.
large
This room is larger than that one.
This is the largest room in the building.
Comparative Form “more” or “less” + Adjective
Superlative Form “the most” or “the least” + Adjective
thoughtful
She is more thoughtful than her sister.
She is the most thoughtful person in our family.
useful
This tool is less useful than that one.
This is the least useful tool in the box.
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
happy
happier
happiest
sleepy
sleepier
sleepiest
narrow
The street became narrower.
This is the narrowest street in the city.
gentle
She spoke in a gentler tone to calm the baby.
She is known for being the gentlest person in town.
little
This kitten is littler than the one we saw yesterday.
This is the littlest kitten I have ever seen.
Unlike adjectives, adverbs ending in “-ly” always form their comparative and superlative forms using “more/less” and “most/least.” You cannot add “-er” or “-est” to these adverbs.
Adverb
Comparative Form “more” or “less” + Adverb
Superlative Form “the most” or “the least” + Adverb
carefully
She completed the assignment more carefully than her classmates.
Among all the students, Lucy completed the assignment the most carefully.
efficiently
The new employee worked less efficiently than the experienced staff.
The new employee worked the least efficiently within the department.
intelligent
My dog is more intelligent than my fish.
My dog is the most intelligent pet in the house.
important
The project due next month is less important than the one due this week.
The project due next month is the least important task on my list.
Some two-syllable adjectives can follow two different rules. While both forms are grammatically correct, there may be preferences in different contexts. For example, in formal writing contexts, the “more/most” forms are often preferred.
Option #1
Option #2
Some common adjectives have completely irregular forms that must be memorized as they don't follow standard comparative and superlative patterns.
good
better
(the) best
bad
worse
(the) worst
far
farther
(the) farthest
less
(the) least
few
fewer
(the) fewest
TABLE STYLE
To form comparative sentences, use the comparative with the word “than.”
Examples
It is also possible to use “(not) as…as” to express a similarity or difference
Examples Expressing Similarity
Examples Expressing Difference
When comparing something to an entire group (more than two items), use the superlative form rather than the comparative form.
He is the happier person I know.
The use of the comparative form “happier” suggests a comparison of two people. However, the phrase “person I know” suggests someone is being compared to all the people you know, which means we likely have a comparison of more than two.
He is the happiest person I know.
This version uses the superlative form to correctly compare one person against all people known.
Never use both forms of comparison (“more” and “-er”) at the same time. Choose either the “-er” ending OR the word “more,” but not both.
His car is more faster than mine.
This incorrectly uses both “more” and “-er,” creating a double comparison.
His car is faster than mine.
This revision correctly uses just the “-er” ending for the one-syllable word “fast.”
An empty comparison occurs when one part is missing, leaving readers wondering, “compared to what?” Every comparison requires two elements: the thing being compared and what it's being compared to.
The participants were more experienced.
In this sentence, it’s unclear who the participants are being compared to.
The participants were more experienced than the previous group of participants.
In this revision, it’s clear the comparison is to the previous group of participants.
Ambiguous comparisons occur when it's unclear what two things are being compared. This often happens when essential words are left out of the comparison, leaving readers uncertain about the intended meaning.
She likes pizza better than her husband.
It’s a bit unclear what is being compared in this sentence. Is pizza being compared to her husband?
She likes pizza better than her husband does.
The addition of “does” to this sentence makes it clear that the comparison is focused on who likes pizza more.
Superlative forms (words ending in “-est” or using “most/least”) always need the article “the” before them. This shows you're comparing something to all others in a group.
Finishing quickly was least important task.
In this version, “the” is missing before “least.”
Finishing quickly was the least important task.
In this revision, “the” is correctly used before the superlative to show this task's importance is being compared against all other tasks.
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