Degree Of Comparison Of Adjectives and Adverbs (Rules & Examples)

Understanding how to compare things is essential for clear and confident English communication. Whether you’re describing people, places, actions, or feelings, the correct use of comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs helps you express yourself with precision and fluency.

Before diving into comparisons, it’s helpful to understand what adjectives and adverbs are and how they function in a sentence. If you’re new to this or need a refresher, check out our complete guide to Parts of Speech to build a strong foundation.

In this ultimate guide from Belekar Sir’s Academy, you’ll learn how to correctly form and use comparative and superlative structures in spoken English. With real-life examples and easy-to-follow explanations, you’ll master the rules that make your English sound more natural, accurate, and expressive.

What Are Comparative and Superlative Forms?

Comparative and superlative forms show different degrees of adjectives and adverbs:

• Comparative: Compares two people, things, or groups.
  Examples: taller, smaller, faster
  
• Superlative: Shows the highest or lowest degree among three or more.
  Examples: tallest, smallest, fastest

Why Do We Use Them?

We use comparatives and superlatives to highlight differences, preferences, or changes between things. This makes our communication clearer and more descriptive.

Example:

“My house is larger than hers” explains a clear difference in size.

Everyday Uses

• To compare two items

This box is smaller than the one I lost.

• To show the most or least in a group

She is the tallest student in the class.

• To express change or feelings

I’m feeling happier now.

• To describe actions

Your dog runs faster than Jim’s.

These forms are widely used in conversation and writing to make comparisons easy to understand.

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

What Are Comparative Adjectives?

Comparative adjectives are used to compare two people, things, or groups. They show how one differs from the other in terms of a specific quality.

How They’re Formed:

• Add -er to short adjectives: taller, faster
  
• Use more before longer adjectives: more beautiful, more interesting
  
• Usually followed by than
  

Examples:

• My house is bigger than hers.
  
• She is faster than her brother.
  
• This book is more interesting than the last one.
  

What Are Superlative Adjectives?

Superlative adjectives show the highest or lowest degree of a quality among three or more people or things.

How They’re Formed:

• Add -est to short adjectives: tallest, fastest
  
• Use most before longer adjectives: most beautiful, most expensive
  
• Usually preceded by the
  

Examples:

• She is the tallest student in the class.
  
• This is the most expensive car here.
  
• Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
  

Comparative vs. Superlative

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Wrong form: more better → use better
  
• Missing “than”: She is taller her sister → She is taller than her sister
  
• Missing “the”: He is fastest in class → He is the fastest in class

Forming Comparatives and Superlatives

1. One-Syllable Adjectives

• Add -er / -est
  
  • tall → taller → tallest
    
  • fast → faster → fastest
    

2. Adjectives Ending in -e

• Add -r / -st
  
  • nice → nicer → nicest
    
  • large → larger → largest
    

3. CVC Pattern (Consonant–Vowel–Consonant)

• Double the final consonant before adding endings
  
  • big → bigger → biggest
    
  • hot → hotter → hottest
    

4. Ending in -y (with a consonant before y)

• Change -y to -i before adding endings
  
  • happy → happier → happiest
    
  • silly → sillier → silliest
    

5. Two-Syllable Adjectives Ending in -er, -ow, or -le

• Often add -er / -est
  
  • clever → cleverer → cleverest
    
  • narrow → narrower → narrowest
    
  • simple → simpler → simplest
    

6. Adjectives with Two or More Syllables

• Use more / most
  
  • beautiful → more beautiful → most beautiful
    
  • important → more important → most important
    

Tip: If unsure, especially with two-syllable words, it’s safer to use more and most.

Note: Some adjectives (like fun) don’t use -er/-est:

• fun → more fun (not funner)

In summary: Use comparative adjectives to compare two things (-er or more), and superlatives to show the highest degree among three or more (-est or most). Watch for spelling changes and know when to use "more" instead of adding "-er".

Irregular Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Some adjectives and adverbs don’t follow regular patterns:

• good → better → best
  
• bad → worse → worst
  
• far → farther/further → farthest/furthest
  

These must be memorized as they change form completely.

Using Comparative Adjectives

Structure: Comparative + than

Used to compare two people or things.

Example:

She is taller than her brother.

Modifiers for Comparatives

To adjust intensity, use words like:

much, a lot, far, slightly, a bit

Examples:

• He is much better at chess than I am.
  
• This chair is a bit heavier than that one.
  
• The weather today is far worse than yesterday.
  

Repeating Comparatives for Emphasis

Used to show increasing degree or emphasis:

• The faster, the better
  
• More and more interesting
  

Common in proverbs or for gradual change.

Expressing Less of a Quality

Structures:

• less + adjective + than
  
• not as + adjective + as
  

Examples:

• This test is less difficult than the last one.
  
• He’s not as tall as his father.

Reduced Comparatives in Speech

In casual English, the verb after than is often left out when it’s understood.

Example:

She’s taller than me (is).

Formal: She’s taller than I am.

Using Superlative Adjectives

Structure: the + superlative

Used to compare one thing with a group.

Examples:

• This is the best day of my life.
  
• Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
  

Prepositions After Superlatives

Common prepositions include in, of, among.

Examples:

• She’s the fastest in the team.
  
• That was the most exciting moment of the game.
  

Determiners + Superlatives

Use words like my, his, their before superlatives:

Examples:

• My best friend is coming over.
  
• He is his most valuable asset.
  

Emphasizing Superlatives

Use intensifiers like: by far, easily, undoubtedly

Examples:

• She is by far the best player.
  
• This is easily the most useful tool I own.
  

Superlative + to-Infinitive

Follow superlatives with a to-infinitive phrase to explain the action or person.

Examples:

• She’s the first person to arrive.
  
• That was the best thing to do.

Comparing Adverbs

Regular Form:

Use more and most for most adverbs.

Example:
quickly → more quickly → most quickly

Irregular Adverbs:

• well → better → best
  
• badly → worse → worst
  

Structure:

Adverb + than compares how actions are done.

Examples:

• He runs faster than me.
  
• She sings more beautifully than her sister.

Spelling Rules Summary

Double Final Consonant

For one-syllable adjectives ending in CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant), double the final consonant.

Examples:

• big → bigger → biggest
  
• hot → hotter → hottest
  

Change -y to -i

If the adjective ends in -y after a consonant, change -y to -i before adding -er or -est.

Examples:

• happy → happier → happiest
  
• easy → easier → easiest
  

Add -r / -st

If the adjective ends in -e, just add -r or -st.

Examples:

• nice → nicer → nicest
  
• large → larger → largest

Longer Adjectives

For adjectives with two or more syllables (except some ending in -er, -ow, or -le), use more/most:

Examples:

• beautiful → more beautiful → most beautiful
  
• important → more important → most important

Quick Tips

-er vs. more

• Use -er/-est with short adjectives (one syllable, some two).
  
• Use more/most with longer adjectives (two or more syllables).
  
• If unsure, more/most is a safer choice.
  

Natural Use in Conversation

Use modifiers for precision and fluency.

Example:

She’s much taller than her brother.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Don’t use double comparatives:

more better → better

more taller → taller

• Don’t forget than after comparatives:

She is taller her sister → She is taller than her sister

• Use the before superlatives:

He is tallest → He is the tallest

Frequently Asked Questions:

Mangesh Belekar

Belekar Sir is the founder and lead instructor at Belekar Sir’s Academy, a trusted name in English language education. With over a decade of teaching experience, he has helped thousands of students—from beginners to advanced learners—develop fluency, confidence, and real-world communication skills. Known for his practical teaching style and deep understanding of learner needs, Belekar Sir is passionate about making English accessible and empowering for everyone. When he’s not teaching, he’s creating resources and guides to support learners on their journey to mastering spoken English.