Adjectives and simple comparison in English
How it works
In English, adjectives describe the qualities of people, things, or animals, e.g. ‹big›, ‹small›, ‹happy›. To compare things, you make adjectives comparative and superlative. Many short adjectives form the comparative with ‹-er› and the superlative with ‹-est›, e.g. ‹small – smaller – the smallest›. If an adjective ends in ‹-y›, the ‹y› often changes to ‹i›: ‹happy – happier – the happiest›. With short adjectives such as ‹big›, the final consonant is often doubled: ‹big – bigger – the biggest›. Longer adjectives usually form the comparison with ‹more› and ‹the most›, e.g. ‹interesting – more interesting – the most interesting›. Some adjectives have irregular comparative forms, e.g. ‹good – better – the best›. Comparison helps express differences and comparisons.
Many short adjectives, especially one-syllable ones, are compared with ‹-er› in the comparative and ‹-est› in the superlative. If an adjective ends in ‹-y›, the ‹y› often changes to ‹i›, e.g. ‹easy – easier – the easiest›. With some short adjectives, the final consonant is doubled, e.g. ‹big – bigger – the biggest›. Longer adjectives usually form the comparative with ‹more› and ‹the most›. Irregular adjectives have their own forms, e.g. ‹good – better – the best›.
An example
What is the correct comparative form of ‹cold›?
Try it yourself now
50 Exercises
To the learning unit →Own explanation and own practice exercises by AmyMath. Subject reference framework: English. The topic assignment may vary by federal state.