The Complete List of
English Spelling Rules

Lesson 14:
Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

In this series of lessons, you will learn useful spelling rules in English.

This lesson will give you helpful guidelines so that you know how to spell comparative and superlative adjectives in English.


Download a free worksheet + answer key.

As you know, in order to form comparative and superlative adjectives in English, you need to change the adjective.

For shorter adjectives, you need to add -er to the end of the word to make a comparative or add -est to form a superlative.

For longer words, we add "more" before the adjective for the comparative form or "most" for the superlative.

1. Adding -er or -est to form a comparative

Click Here for Step-by-Step Rules, Stories and Exercises to Practice All English Tenses

The words "tall" and "short" are adjectives. They describe Barry or Eric. Since both of these words are only one syllable, we simply add -er or -est to the end of the word to make comparatives.

One-syllable words that end in a double consonant (or two vowels and a single consonant) simply take the -er or -est at the end. Here are some examples:

Comparative	Superlative
longer	longest
darker	darkest
brighter	brightest
quicker	quickest
warmer	warmest
colder	coldest
older	oldest
younger	youngest
stronger	strongest
smarter	smartest
weaker	weakest
neater	neatest
louder	loudest

2. Adding -er or -est to a one-syllable adjective that ends in a single vowel and a single consonant

When the adjective you want to make into a comparative or superlative is only one syllable long and ends in a single vowel and a single consonant, you must double the final consonant, then add -er or -est.

Here are some common examples:

Comparative	Superlative
bigger	biggest
fatter	fattest
hotter	hottest
sadder	saddest
madder	maddest
thinner	thinnest

3. Adding -er or -est to an adjective that ends in Y

When the adjective ends in a y, you must change the y to an i, then add -er or -est to form the comparative or the superlative.

For example:

Comparative	Superlative
prettier	prettiest
angrier	angriest
happier	happiest
busier	busiest
lovelier	loveliest
sillier	silliest
sleepier	sleepiest
thirstier	thirstiest
uglier	ugliest

4. Adding -er or -est to a one-syllable adjective that ends in E

For adjectives that end in e, you must only add -r to make a comparative and -st to make a superlative.

Here are some common examples of these adjectives:

Comparative	Superlative
closer	closest
wiser	wisest
stranger	strangest
huger	hugest
ruder	rudest
looser	loosest
safer	safest
cuter	cutest
gentler	gentlest
simpler	simplest

5. Making comparatives or superlatives with adjectives that have two or more syllables

One-syllable adjectives in English follow the rules above to add -er or -est. Adjectives with three or more syllables add the word "more" before them to become comparatives, and "most" to become superlatives.

Most two-syllable adjectives will take "more" or "most," but if they end in -y, -er, -le, or -ow, they follow the rules above. 

Here are some examples:

Comparative	Superlative
more interesting	most interesting
more complete	most complete
more beautiful	most beautiful
more important	most important
more dangerous	most dangerous
more colorful	most colorful
more exciting	most exciting
more complicated	most complicated
more boring	most boring

6. Irregular comparatives and superlatives

Finally, there are some very common adjectives that have irregular forms for their comparatives and superlatives.

Here are the most important ones for you to remember:

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative
good	better	best
bad	worse	worst
well	better	best
far	farther / further	farthest / furthest

Review

So, let's review what we have learned about forming comparatives and superlatives in English:

1. For one-syllable adjective, add -er (comparative) or -est (superlative) to the end of the adjective.
   
   
2. If the one-syllable adjective ends in a single vowel and a single consonant, double the final consonant before adding -er or -est.
   
   
3. For adjectives that end in -y, change the y to i, then add -er or -est.
   
   
4. If the one-syllable consonant ends in -e, simply add -r or -st.
   
   
5. For adjectives with two or more syllables, add "more" before the adjective to form a comparative, or "most" to form a superlative (unless the two-syllable adjective ends in -y, -le, -er, or -ow).
   
   
6. Remember that there are some common irregular comparative and superlative adjectives.

Download a free worksheet

Please share this page with others: