Comparative and superlative adjectives

By now you should know what an adjective is: words like tall, big or intelligent. These words can have what grammarians name degrees of modification. The degrees of modification can be the positive the comparative  and the superlative forms. In fact only comparative and superlatives show these degrees in practice.


Here you have some rules you will have to follow for the formation of comparative and superlative forms:

 

Examples of superlatives:

                                      

                                        

1- Tom is old. He is 70. But Paul is 83. He is older than Tom...and Joe is 120. He is the oldest

2- The trumpet is noisy...A single drum is noisier...But a set of drums is the noisiest musical instrument

3- A pocket camera is expensive... A reflex camera is more expensive than a pocket camera....But a digital camera is the most expensive of the three

4- Tom is a good student. He marks are always seven or eight. Sue is better than Tom: she gets always eight or nine....But Lisa is the best in the class...She always gets ten

"Notice that the word than frequently accompanies the comparative and the word the precedes the superlative"

"To end this lesson note also that adjectives that end in a vowel and one consonant double that final consonant" 

 - Examples:


                        big         bigger        the biggest                 grande
                        hot         hotter        the hottest                  cálido
                        wet        wetter        the wettest                 húmedo



 - Now try to complete this exercise using comparatives and superlatives:


Mount Everest is ___________    than Cerro Aconcagua.   (high)


I like music. To me, music is ___________   interesting than maths.   


Cheetahs are ______________    than tigers or lions. (fast)


The Parana is a long river...The Amazon is longer. But the Nile is the _____________ in the world.  

Mariah Carey is a bit  _____________ than Madonna. (young) 


Laurel and Hardy were  _____________ than the Simson" (funny)


The Atacama desert is ______________ than the Amazonian region. (dry)


The Saharan desert is the  _____________ The Saharan desert is the