Comparatives & Superlatives

Comparatives of equality As + adjective + as Not so / as + adjective + as ‘He is as tall as me’ ‘He isn’t so / as tall as me’ In Spanish we use ‘tan’+ adjective + ‘como’

Comparatives of superiority Short adjectives (1 syllable) We add –er or –r. Two – syllable adjectives ending in –y We take –y out and we add –ier. Longer adjectives (2or more syllables) We use more before the adjective. Irregular forms Some adjectives take completely irregular forms.

We use these comparatives of superiority to compare two things or two people. We can use than after the comparative forms. ‘John is shorter than Mary’ ‘He is more intelligent than her’ In Spanish we use ‘más’ + adjective + ‘que’

Superlatives Short adjectives (1 syllable) We add –est or –st. Two – syllable adjectives ending in –y We take –y out and we add –iest. Longer adjectives (2or more syllables) We use the most before the adjective. Irregular forms Some adjectives take completely irregular forms.

We use superlatives to compare a person / thing with a group. We always use the before the superlative adjectives. ‘He is the shortest in the group’ ‘He is the most interesting of the students’ In Spanish we use ‘el más’ + adjective

RichRicher thanThe richest NiceNicer thanThe nicest EasyEasier thanThe easiest Happy Happier thanThe happiest Stressful More… thanThe most … Dangerous More… thanThe most … GoodBetter thanThe best BadWorse thanThe worst FarFarther / further than The farthest / furthest OldOlder / Elder (for people) The oldest / The eldest (for people)

Comparatives of inferiority Less + adjective + than ‘He is less tall / intelligent than her’ In Spanish we use ‘menos’ + adjective + ‘que’ Superlatives of inferiority The least + adjective (in / of) ‘He is the least tall / intelligent in the group / of the students’ In Spanish we use ‘el menos’ + adjective (‘de’)

The …, the … In Spanish we use ‘Cuanto más / menos …, más / menos …’ The + adjective in the comparative form / less + adjective + sentence, the + adjective in the comparative form / less + adjective + sentence. ‘The taller he is, the faster he runs’ ‘The less rich they get, the happier they feel’

Instead of using ‘The + adjective in the comparative form / less + adjective + sentence’ we can use: The + more / less / fewer + noun + sentence’ ‘The more hours he studies, the more self- confident he feels’ The + more / less + sentence’ ‘The less you practise, the angrier the trainer gets’