Comparatives and superlatives
Compare two things with -er or more + than, and pick one from a group with the -est or the most. Use as … as for equal things and much or a bit to show how big the difference is.
How it works
- One syllable: cheap, cheaper, the cheapest. Two syllables ending in -y: busy, busier, the busiest.
- Longer adjectives: more/the most + adjective: more expensive, the most expensive.
- Irregular: good, better, the best; bad, worse, the worst; far, further, the furthest (farther, the farthest are also used for distance, especially in American English).
- Never use more and -er together: not more cheaper.
- Equal: as + adjective + as (as tall as). Not equal: not as/so … as.
- Show the size of a difference: much, far, a lot or a bit + comparative (much cheaper, a bit faster).
- The + comparative, the + comparative: The more you practise, the easier it gets.
Examples
Grab is often cheaper than a regular taxi.
This is the busiest street in the city.
The new phone is much more expensive than the old one.
My English isn't as good as my sister's.
The more you read, the bigger your vocabulary gets.
Common mistakes
Wrong: This hotel is
morecheaper than that one.Right: This hotel is cheaper than that one.
Wrong: She is the
mosttallest girl in my class.Right: She is the tallest girl in my class.
Wrong: He is the best student
ofmy class.Right: He is the best student in my class.
Practice
1 of 15Fill the gap.
Level: EGP Adjectives (comparison): -er/-est and more/most are A1–A2; as … as, much/far + comparative and the … the … are B1 points. Written for Gloss.