Comparative and Superlative Adjectives and adverbs in English
We use comparative adjectives to compare people and things:
I am 1 metre 80cm tall; my brother is 1.85m
- My brother is taller than me; or
- I am shorter than my brother.
We use comparative adverbs to compare actions:
John runs 100m in 11.5 seconds; Fred runs 100m in 12.5 seconds
- John runs faster than Fred; or
- Fred runs more slowly than John.
We can also use the form: (not) as + (adjective/adverb) + as
- Fred doesn’t run as fast as John.
- I am not as tall as my brother.
- *** NOTE – we use the normal adjective (fast, tall etc) NOT the comparative adjective (faster, taller etc) in this form
- *** – “not” is used to form a negative verb ( I’m not; he doesn’t etc)
We use the + superlative adjectives and adverbs to say which is the tallest, fastest etc in a group:
Mary has 4 children: Larry is 13 years old, Angela is 11, Veronica is 7 and Mark is 4
- Larry is the oldest in the family; or
- Mark is the youngest.
Gladyce Smith is only 16 years old and has just started at university. She is the most intelligent person I’ve ever met
Learn how to form comparative adjectives, with examples
How to form Superlative adjectives – lesson with examples
Exercise – superlative adjective practice