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Comparatives and superlatives
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Comparing things
- Use a comparative to compare a quality: This bag is heavier than that one. A superlative picks out the most or least within a group: This is the heaviest bag here.
- Outcome: make a comparison that says exactly what you mean. Start with articles and plurals. Starting check: if two bags are equally heavy, must they be the same colour? No — the comparison is about weight.
Comparatives: -er / more … than
- Learn the form with the adjective: tall → taller, big → bigger, expensive → more expensive. Many short adjectives take -er; happy becomes happier, while careful uses more careful. Length alone is not a complete spelling rule.
- Use than when naming the comparison: My bag is bigger than yours. Irregular forms include good → better and bad → worse. Less expensive expresses a lower price; more expensive expresses a higher one.
Comparative: -er or more?
Learn the ordinary comparative forms of these particular adjectives; length alone is not a complete rule for every adjective.
Choose the comparative: This bag is ___ than that one.
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Bigger is the ordinary comparative of big; double the g before -er in this word. More big and biggest do not complete the requested ordinary comparative frame. Do not turn this one spelling pattern into a rule for every short adjective.
Translate into English: 我的包比你的大。
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My bag is bigger than yours preserves the size comparison. Larger than your bag or the reversed Your bag is smaller than mine can also preserve it. Your is valid before bag; yours stands for the whole noun phrase.
Choose the ordinary comparative: The joke is ___ than the last one.
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Funny takes funnier in this ordinary comparative frame, with y changing to i. More funny is not the form taught here, and funniest is a superlative. One spelling does not fix every adjective.
Superlatives: the tallest / my best
- Common forms include the tallest, the most beautiful, the best, the worst. In He is the tallest student in the class, the introduces the superlative noun phrase.
- Another word can fill that place: my best friend, not my the best friend. With two people, the comparative is the traditional choice: Which is taller? Superlatives for two also occur in informal use; they are not automatically errors.
Use the + the superlative of good: It is ___ film of the year.
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The best completes this explicitly requested the + superlative noun phrase. Good has the irregular form best. Other noun phrases can use my best film without the; this answer does not mean every superlative always needs the.
Choose the noun phrase that uses my instead of a second the: She is ___ friend in the club.
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My best friend lets my introduce the noun phrase. My the best adds a second determiner, and my most best stacks two superlative markers.
as … as
- As + base adjective + as compares that quality: She is as tall as her mother says their heights match. It does not say that every feature is the same.
- Not as … as gives a lower degree: Today isn't as hot as yesterday. Keep the base adjective between as … as: as tall as, not as taller as.
Complete: She is as ___ as her sister.
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Between as ... as, use the base adjective: “as tall as”.
Keep the base adjective: This puzzle is not as ___ as the last one.
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Not as hard as uses the base adjective between as and as. Harder and hardest are comparison forms and do not fit this frame.
Common mistakes
- For the ordinary price comparison here, use It is cheaper, rather than It is more cheap. Learn this form; other adjectives have different patterns.
- To say the height difference is large, use He is much taller than me or He is a lot taller than me. Much goes before the comparative in the first pattern. Other patterns can use a lot too.
- Use bigger than yours or bigger than your bag. Your introduces a noun; yours stands for it. Bigger than your bag is correct because bag follows your.
Match the adjective to its comparative.
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For these supplied adjectives: good → better, bad → worse, happy → happier and expensive → more expensive. These four pairings do not establish a complete rule based only on adjective length.
Express a higher degree of interest using the comparative: This film is ___ interesting than that one.
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More interesting expresses the requested higher degree. Less interesting is also grammatical, but reverses the requested meaning; it is not a form error. Check the direction as well as the adjective pattern.
A pen costs 8 yuan and a notebook costs 12 yuan. Which report keeps the price direction?
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Twelve is greater than eight, so the notebook is more expensive than the pen. Cheaper reverses the prices, and as expensive claims they match.
Choose the sentence that puts much before the comparative.
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Much taller than places much before the comparative taller. Taller much than splits the phrase, and much tall than leaves the adjective in the base form.
- Identify the quality, the things or groups compared and the direction of the comparison. Learn each adjective's form.
- Check the whole phrase: the best film, my best film, as long as yours. Equal length does not mean identical objects.
Compare two things (two cities, two foods, two people…). Write one sentence with a comparative and “than”.
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Example: “Shanghai is bigger than my hometown.”
Worked contrasts: keep the meaning
- One quality: The red case is as heavy as the blue case. Their weights match. The sentence does not compare size, price or strength.
- The noun phrase: This is the best photo in the set. Compare This is my best photo: my introduces the noun phrase, so do not add the after it. The two sentences may compare different groups of photos.
- Price direction: one ticket costs 30 yuan and another costs 50 yuan. The 30-yuan ticket is cheaper or less expensive. Calling it more expensive reverses the comparison, even though that phrase has a correct form.
Apply and review
- Compare two real objects in English. Name the quality you compare, and check that the form and direction match what you mean.
- The checks use new prices, sizes and groups. A correct adjective form with the wrong direction is still the wrong comparison.
Independent decisions
- Use only the facts in the question. Do not invent age, weight, colour or quality when the sentence names one property.
- After a miss, name whether the error was the adjective form, the direction, or an extra claim. Then try a different pair.
“The green rope is as long as the white rope.” What does the sentence tell you?
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As long as compares length. It does not compare every property of the ropes. Repair: name the quality before deciding what is equal. Fresh check: name one fact about these ropes that would require a different comparison.
The blue bike costs 900 yuan and the red bike costs 900 yuan. Which sentence fits the prices?
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Both prices are 900 yuan, so as expensive as matches them. More expensive and cheaper both invent a difference.
Room A and Room B are each 20 square metres. Which sentence uses only that size fact?
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Equal areas support as large as. Larger contradicts the equal numbers, and the largest room in the school compares Room A with rooms that were not given.
Mei and Lin are both 160 cm tall. What does “Mei is as tall as Lin” tell you?
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As tall as compares height only. The sentence does not give age or weight.
A bus ticket costs 4 yuan and a train ticket costs 15 yuan. Which report is correct?
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Fifteen is greater than four, so the train ticket is more expensive. The other two reports reverse that direction.
Choose the ordinary comparative: This street is ___ than that one.
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Wide takes wider in this ordinary comparative frame. More wide is not that form, and widest is a superlative.
Choose the ordinary comparative of good: This soup is ___ than that soup.
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Good has the irregular comparative better. Gooder is not the ordinary form, and best is the superlative.
Choose the ordinary comparative of bad: Today is ___ than yesterday.
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Bad has the irregular comparative worse. Badder is not the ordinary form, and worst is the superlative.
Of these three plans, this is ___ one.
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Careful takes the most careful as its superlative in this three-plan group. Carefullest is not the ordinary form, and more careful is a comparative, not the superlative asked for here.
Choose the phrase that lets my introduce the noun.
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My best drawing uses one determiner. My the best adds the after my, and my most best stacks two superlative markers.
Keep the base adjective: The second hill is as ___ as the first.
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As high as needs the base form high. Higher and highest do not sit between as and as.
Coat A costs 200 yuan and Coat B costs 350 yuan. Which report keeps the prices?
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Two hundred is lower than 350, so Coat A is less expensive than Coat B. More expensive reverses the numbers, and as expensive claims they are equal.
Choose the phrase with much before the comparative: The new case is ___ the old case.
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Much heavier than is the requested order. Heavier much than moves much after the comparative, and much heavy than does not use the comparative.
Choose the ordinary comparative: She looks ___ than she did this morning.
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Happy takes happier here, with y changing to i. More happy is not the ordinary form in this frame, and happiest is a superlative.
Choose the ordinary comparative: The hotel is ___ than the hostel.
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Expensive takes more expensive in this comparative frame. Expensiver is not the ordinary form, and most expensive is a superlative.
“The two ropes are as long as each other.” Which fact is still unknown?
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As long as states that the lengths match. It does not state the colour. The sentence itself is the length comparison, so that fact is not unknown.
Which completion is a correct ordinary comparative?
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Your bag is complete because bag follows your. Your alone does not stand for the noun, and your the bag uses two determiners. Yours would also stand alone, but it is not one of these options.
Choose the ordinary price comparative: This pencil is ___ than that one.
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Cheap takes cheaper in this ordinary comparative. More cheap is the mistake named in the lesson, and cheapest is a superlative.
Monday was 30 degrees C and Tuesday was 22 degrees C. Which sentence keeps the temperatures?
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Twenty-two is lower than 30, so Tuesday was not as hot as Monday. Hotter reverses the days, and as hot claims the temperatures match.
Film A and Film B each last 90 minutes. Which sentence uses only that fact?
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Both films last 90 minutes, so as long as matches the running times. Longer contradicts the equal times, and the longest film this year compares Film A with films that were not given.
Transfer: a library book and a shop copy
- Borrowing one library book costs nothing. The same title in a shop costs 36 yuan. Compare those stated prices, not how useful the book is.
- Use as … as when the named quality matches, and a comparative with than when the numbers differ.
A notebook costs 18 yuan at Shop A and 25 yuan at Shop B. Choose the report that keeps the price comparison correct.
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Eighteen is lower than twenty-five, so cheaper at Shop A preserves the direction. More expensive reverses it; as expensive wrongly makes the prices equal. Repair: identify which shop has the lower number first. Fresh check: express the same prices using more expensive with Shop B as the starting point.
Facts: Bag A weighs 1 kg and costs 80 yuan. Bag B also weighs 1 kg and costs 60 yuan. Write two English sentences: compare their weights with as … as, then compare their prices with a comparative and than. Do not invent size, quality or durability. Compare, then revise one comparison.
Compare the stated facts, your English forms and the intended meaning. Revise one actual mismatch, or explain why no change is needed. This written self-review does not award correctness or certify proficiency.
Borrowing the library book costs 0 yuan. The shop copy of the same title costs 36 yuan. Which sentence keeps those prices?
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Thirty-six is greater than zero, so the shop copy is more expensive. The other two reports either reverse that gap or claim the prices match. Usefulness of the book is not in the facts.
Return later
- Tomorrow, recall one -er form, one more + adjective form, and one as … as sentence before you reread. Then try the later-review choices.
- Continue with articles a, an and the. A written self-review does not establish correctness or certify proficiency.
Usage guidance checked 2026-10-20: Cambridge, adjective comparisons and comparisons of equality. Local source checks; independent language, answer and learner review pending.
Recall the base adjective: The second song is as ___ as the first.
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As long as keeps the base form long between as and as. Longer and longest are comparison forms.
The second result has higher quality than the first. Choose the ordinary irregular comparative.
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Higher quality in this comparative frame uses better, the irregular comparative of good. Gooder is not that form, and best is the superlative.