Comparatives, superlatives and equality
by Viv Quarry (www.vivquarry.com)
Look at these sentences:
Type 1
London is bigger than Manchester.
London is the biggest city in Britain.
Type2
London is more cosmopolitan than Manchester.
London is the most cosmopolitan city in Britain.
Words of ONE SYLLABLE are TYPE 1.
Words of THREE SYLLABLES OR MORE are TYPE 2.
Words of TWO SYLLABLES ending in '~ER', '~Y' or '~LE' are TYPE 1.
Adjective Comparative Superlative
clever cleverer the cleverest
funny funnier* the funniest*
simple simpler the simplest
* Note how the 'Y' changes to 'I' when a suffix is added.
Words of TWO SYLLABLES ending in '~FUL' or '~ING' are TYPE 2.
Adjective Comparative Superlative
careful more careful the most careful
boring more boring the most boring
Some two syllable adjectives can be both types:
Adjective Comparative Superlative
polite politer / more polite the politest / the most polite
MOST TWO SYLLABLE WORDS ARE TYPE TWO, so if you're not sure, guess that the comparative and superlative are formed using MORE / THE MOST.
Irregular adjectives
Adjective Comparative Superlative
good better the best
bad worse the worst
far (UK) further the furthest
far (USA) farther the farthest
a lot more the most
a little less the least
Note! We use 'fewer' and 'the fewest' with countable nouns e.g. There were fewer people than yesterday.
Thanks to Headway Intermediate 1st edition for help with these rules.