COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES

Two-syllable adjectives ending in -y have -ier and -iest as their comparative and superlative. For example:

pretty	prettier	prettiest
happy	happier	happiest
dirty	dirtier	dirtiest
messy	messier	messiest

• Yours is the messiest room I have ever seen.
• She was the prettiest and happiest girl at the party.

Note that other common two-syllable adjectives ending in an unstressed vowel normally take the -er/-est patterns:

simple	simpler	simplest
clever	cleverer	cleverest

• The cleverest solution to any problem is usually the simplest one.

			Others, particularly participial adjectives formed with -ing and -ed and those ending in -ious and -ful form their comparatives and superlatives with more and most: boring more boring most boring worried more worried most worried anxious more anxious most anxious careful more careful most careful Watching cricket is even more boring than playing it. My wife was certainly more anxious than I was when Penny failed to return. I bought the wrong type of hair shampoo for Joan. Next time I was more careful. With some two-syllable adjectives, er/est and more/most are both possible: The commonest /most common alcoholic drink in Poland is vodka. He is more pleasant /pleasanter to talk to when he has not been drinking.

			Three or more syllable adjectives take more or most in the comparative and superlative except for two-syllable adjectives ending in -y and prefixed with un-: reasonable more reasonable most reasonable beautiful more beautiful most beautiful untidy untidier untidiest unhealthy unhealthier unheathiest John is the unhealthiest person I know, but one of the most successful.

			(c) Adapted from http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv140.shtml

EXERCISES:

• Exercise 1
• Exercise 2
• Exercise 3
• Exercise 4

A good song to revise comparatives is the following one:

 Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger by Daft Punk

If you want to revise superlatives, 
listen to The Hardest Part by Coldplay

 

Watch the following video in which lots of comparatives and superlatives are used.