This document discusses comparative and superlative forms of adjectives in English. It explains that the comparative form uses "-er" or "more" to compare two items, while the superlative form uses "-est" or "most" to compare three or more items. Some adjectives have irregular forms. The document provides examples and guidelines for using comparatives and superlatives correctly. It also discusses unusual expressions that follow the pattern "the ADJECTIVE + er, the ADJECTIVE + er".

1. UCI Extension
Paper-Based TOEFL Workshop
Comparatives and Superlatives
Structure and Written Expression Skills 27-29
Longman Preparation Course for the TOEFL Test
Tutorial prepared by Marla Yoshida
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2. The comparative form of adjectives
• A comparative form of an adjective shows that one thing has
more of a quality than another. It is used in sentences like this:
Elephants are bigger than mice.
Diamonds are more expensive than chewing gum.
• We usually put than and a noun, pronoun, or clause after the
comparative adjective to name the thing we’re comparing
something to.
Babies are always younger than their parents.
No one is more dedicated than he.
(Or in more casual speech, …more dedicated than him.)
You have more money than I do.
(OR You have more money than do I.)
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3. The comparative form of adjectives
• We make comparative forms in two ways:
1. If the adjective has one syllable OR if it has two syllables
and ends in –y or -le, we add –er to the adjective.
big  bigger
noisy  noisier
little littler
1. If the adjective has two syllables and doesn’t end in –y or
–le, OR if it has three or more syllables, we add more
before it.
modern  more modern dangerous more dangerous
We never use both more and –er at the same time.
more longer
more intelligenter
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4. The comparative form of adjectives
• A few words have irregular comparative forms.
good  better
bad  worse
little*  less
much  more
far  farther OR
far  further
✻Here
the word little means not much, as in I only have a little
money. It’s different from little meaning small. Compare these:
✻You
have little money. I have less money than you do.
✻Mice
are little. Earthworms are littler than mice.
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5. The superlative form of adjectives
• A superlative form of an adjective shows that one thing has the
most of a quality, compared to a whole group of things.
The fastest animal in the world is the cheetah.
Chocolate is the most delicious food of all.
• After a superlative adjective, we often put a prepositional phrase
starting with in or of, or a clause starting with that to indicate the
whole group of things that we’re comparing something to.
Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world.
I think freesias are the most beautiful of all flowers.
This car is the most expensive thing that I have ever bought.
• We usually put the before a superlative adjective.
the nicest person the spiciest food the most ridiculous joke
This food is the spiciest. That joke is the most ridiculous one.
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6. The superlative form of adjectives
• We make superlative forms in two ways:
1. If the adjective has one syllable OR if it has two syllables
and ends in –y or -le, we add –est to the adjective.
big  biggest
noisy  noisiest
little littlest
1. If the adjective has two syllables and doesn’t end in –y or –
le, OR if it has three or more syllables, we add most before
it.
modern  most modern dangerous most dangerous
We never use both most and –est at the same time.
most longest
most intelligentest
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7. The superlative form of adjectives
• A few words have irregular superlative forms.
good  best
bad  worst
little  least
much  most
far  farthest
OR
far  furthest
• In careful speech, there’s a difference between
farther/farthest and further/furthest. Farther and farthest
are used when we’re talking about actual distance.
Cars can travel farther than horses.
• Further and furthest are used for more figurative meanings.
I think he’ll go further in life than I will.
• This difference isn’t usually followed in everyday language.
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8. Should we use the comparative or superlative?
• We use the comparative form when we are comparing two
things or groups of things.
Alaska is bigger than Texas.
Bobcats are smaller than lions.
My computer is faster than most other computers.
• We use the superlative form when we are talking about one
thing among a group of three or more things.
I have three cats. The oldest is named Charlotte. (>2 cats)
The biggest animal in the world is the sperm whale. (There
are many animals in the world, and it’s bigger than all of them.)
Why did you order the most expensive item on the menu?
(There are many items on the menu, and this one costs the
most.)
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9. Should we use the comparative or superlative?
• In formal, TOEFL-type grammar, we don’t use the superlative
form when we are comparing only two things:
I have two cats. Charlotte is the oldest.
Bob is the tallest of the two boys.
• Instead, we are supposed to use the comparative form. Notice
that we use the in these sentences: the older, the taller.
I have two cats. Charlotte is the older.
Bob is the taller of the two boys.
• People don’t always observe this rule in everyday
conversation, but we still need to follow it on the TOEFL.
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10. Unusual expressions with comparatives
• There are some expressions in English that follow this pattern:
the ADJECTIVE + er, the ADJECTIVE + er
• They mean that as the first thing increases, the second thing also
increases. These famous proverbs follow this pattern:
The bigger they are, the harder they fall. (verbs: are, fall)
The more, the merrier. (no verbs)
• Sentences like these might have verbs (like the first one), or they
might not (like the second). When there’s no verb, we understand
that is or it is has been omitted. Sentences like these are still
acceptable on the TOEFL. Here are more examples:
The more I tried to understand what she was saying, the more
I realized that it was hopeless.
The bigger your investment, the bigger your profits.
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11. Summary
In this section, you have learned about these things:
• We form comparative adjectives with ADJECTIVE–er
or more ADJECTIVE.
• We form superlative adjectives with ADJECTIVE–est
or most ADJECTIVE.
• Use the comparative to compare two things or groups.
• Use the superlative to describe the most extreme of
three or more things or groups.
• Expressions like “The more, the merrier” seem a little
strange, but we sometimes see them.
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