Adjectives describe people, places, and things. When you want to go beyond description, you need to increase the degree of your adjective. Comparative and superlative adjectives are used to show how much the adjectives apply to the nouns they modify in rank order. Comparative adjectives are used to compare two nouns while superlative adjectives express which noun has the most of its attributes.
Comparative Adjectives
When you have two objects that can be described by the same adjective but exhibit the qualities to different degrees, you need a comparative adjective. This helps you show the difference between the two objects more clearly. For example, you can have two dogs that are fast. One, however, is likely to reach the other side of the backyard first in a race. Using the comparative adjective faster helps you distinguish between the speed of the two animals.
The way the comparative is formed depends on the structure of the adjective itself. If it is a one-syllable word and ends in a consonant, you will likely add -er to the end of the word to make it comparative. Sometimes, you will need to double the ending consonant. Words such as big or flat require a double consonant so that the change in degree doesn’t change the sound of the vowel in the middle of the word. If it has one syllable and ends in an e, you can just add -r to the end rather than double the vowel.
When an adjective has more than one syllable, you usually use the word more in front of it to make it comparative rather than tacking on an ending. The painting you like better, therefore, can be termed more beautiful. Common exceptions are words that end in y. In that case, the y usually becomes an i and gets an -er ending. Fancy, for example, becomes fancier when an event with more pomp and circumstance comes along.
Superlative Adjectives
When you want to set a noun apart from everything else to which that noun could refer, you need to use a superlative adjective. The superlative communicates that the object is at an extreme end of the quality the adjective describes. Smallest describes how tiny an object is in comparison to all the others, while biggest denotes that it outsizes them all.
Forming the superlative is similar to forming the comparative. Add -est or -st to most one-syllable words to make them superlative. Instead of using more before longer words, use most. Don’t forget to turn the y on the end of a word to an i before adding the ending.
Exceptions
As with many words in the English language, there are always exceptions to the rule. If you look at the word fun, for example, you might think the best comparative is funner or the superlative funnest. Native speakers tend to use more fun or most fun, though. Some words don’t follow either pattern. Good becomes better and best. When using comparisons, it’s important to know which words follow the rules and which ones don’t.
If you have two or more objects to compare, the base adjective will probably not be sufficient on its own. Using comparative and superlative adjectives tell you the degree to which the quality described applies to the object.
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