Degrees of Comparison

2. Degrees
Of
Comparison

3. tell the size, shape, color
and many other things nouns
and pronouns.
ADJECTIVES

4. Adjectives that
tell size
Adjectives that
tell shape
Adjectives that
tell color
Adjectives that
tell opinion
Adjectives that
tell numbers
big round blue pretty one
large square red narrow five
huge triangle yellow kind a hundred

5. Adjectives can be written:
before a noun
after the be verbs to
complete the sentence.

7. The cow is a big animal.
The camel is bigger than the cow.
The elephant is the biggest of them all.

8. Degrees of
Comparison

9. There are three Degrees of
Comparison in English:
1. Positive degree
2. Comparative degree
3. Superlative degree

10. Positive
Degree

11. We use the POSITIVE
DEGREE when we speak
about only one person or
thing.

12. Examples:
• Lebron James is tall.
• The house is big.
• This flower is beautiful.

13. Comparative
Degree

14. We use the
COMPARATIVE DEGREE
when we compare two
person or two things with
each other.

15. COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES
small smaller

16. HOW TO FORM COMPARATIVE DEGREE?
Short adjective + ER.
old  older
young  younger
CVC + ER (the final consonant is
doubled)
big  bigger
hot  hotter
Short adjective ended in –Y  -IER
easy  easier
heavy  heavier
Long adjective: MORE + long adjective or
LESS + long adjective
exciting  more exciting or less exciting
beautiful  more beautiful or less beautiful
Irregular adjectives
good  better
bad  worse
We use THAN after the comparative form of
the adjective.
John is taller than Mary.
A Ferrari is more expensive than a Fiat.
Riding the bike is less exciting than riding a
horse.

17. old older
I’m 70. I’m 75.
(young –younger)
The woman is old. The man is older than the woman.
The woman is old, but she is younger than the man.

18. big
(small- smaller)
bigger
The polar bear is big.
The elephant is bigger than the polar bear.
The polar bear is big, but it is smaller than the
elephant.

19. tasty
Yogurt is tasty, but ice cream is tastier
than yogurt.
tastier

20. Complete the following
sentences. Use the
comparative form of the
adjectives in brackets.
1. Tiny is (tall) than Sky.
2. Sky is (good) at basketball
than Tiny.
3. Tiny is (fast) than Sky.
4. Sky is (popular) than Tiny.
5. Sky’s feet are (big) than
Tiny’s feet.

21. Complete the following
sentences. Use the
comparative form of the
adjectives in brackets.
1. Tiny is TALLER than Sky.
2. Sky is (good) at basketball
than Tiny.
3. Tiny is (fast) than Sky.
4. Sky is (popular) than Tiny.
5. Sky’s feet are (big) than
Tiny’s feet.

22. Complete the following
sentences. Use the
comparative form of the
adjectives in brackets.
1. Tiny is TALLER than Sky.
2. Sky is BETTER at
basketball than Tiny.
3. Tiny is (fast) than Sky.
4. Sky is (popular) than Tiny.
5. Sky’s feet are (big) than
Tiny’s feet.

23. Complete the following
sentences. Use the
comparative form of the
adjectives in brackets.
1. Tiny is TALLER than Sky.
2. Sky is BETTER at
basketball than Tiny.
3. Tiny is FASTER than Sky.
4. Sky is (popular) than Tiny.
5. Sky’s feet are (big) than
Tiny’s feet.

24. Complete the following
sentences. Use the comparative
form of the adjectives in brackets.
1. Tiny is TALLER than Sky.
2. Sky is BETTER at basketball
than Tiny.
3. Tiny is FASTER than Sky.
4. Sky is MORE POPULAR than
Tiny.
5. Sky’s feet are (big) than Tiny’s
feet.

25. Complete the following
sentences. Use the comparative
form of the adjectives in brackets.
1. Tiny is TALLER than Sky.
2. Sky is BETTER at basketball
than Tiny.
3. Tiny is FASTER than Sky.
4. Sky is MORE POPULAR than
Tiny.
5. Sky’s feet are BIGGER than
Tiny’s feet.

26. Superlative
Degree

27. We use the SUPERLATIVE
DEGREE when we compare
more than two persons or
things with one another.
It is the highest degree of
the quality.

28. SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES
big – bigger – the biggest

29. HOW TO FORM SUPERTIVE DEGREE?
Short adjective + EST.
old  the oldest
young  the youngest
CVC + EST (the final consonant is
doubled)
big  the biggest
hot  the hottest
Short adjective ended in –Y  -I + EST
easy  the easiest
heavy  the heaviest
Long adjective: MOST + long adjective or
LEAST + long adjective
exciting  most exciting or least exciting
beautiful  most beautiful or least beautiful
Irregular adjectives
good  the best
bad  the worst
We use THE before the superlative form of the
adjective.
John is the tallest.
A Ferrari is the most expensive car.
A carousel is the least exciting ride in the
amusement park.

30. old – older - the oldest
Big Ben, in London, is old.
The Tower of Pisa is older than Big Ben.
The pyramids of Giza are older than the Tower of Pisa.
The pyramids of Giza are the oldest among the three.

31. Complete the following
sentences. Use the superlative
form of the adjectives in brackets.
1. Al is (short).
2. Ed is (thin).
3. Al is wearing (colourful)
clothes.
4. Ed is (tall).
5. Joe is (smart).

32. Complete the following
sentences. Use the superlative
form of the adjectives in brackets.
1. Al is THE SHORTEST.
2. Ed is (thin).
3. Al is wearing (colourful)
clothes.
4. Ed is (tall).
5. Joe is (smart).

33. Complete the following
sentences. Use the superlative
form of the adjectives in brackets.
1. Al is THE SHORTEST.
2. Ed is THE THINNEST.
3. Al is wearing (colourful)
clothes.
4. Ed is (tall).
5. Joe is (smart).

34. Complete the following
sentences. Use the superlative
form of the adjectives in brackets.
1. Al is THE SHORTEST.
2. Ed is THE THINNEST.
3. Al is wearing THE MOST
COLOURFUL.
4. Ed is (tall).
5. Joe is (smart).

35. Complete the following
sentences. Use the superlative
form of the adjectives in brackets.
1. Al is THE SHORTEST.
2. Ed is THE THINNEST.
3. Al is wearing THE MOST
COLOURFUL.
4. Ed is THE TALLEST.
5. Joe is (smart).

36. Complete the following
sentences. Use the superlative
form of the adjectives in brackets.
1. Al is THE SHORTEST.
2. Ed is THE THINNEST.
3. Al is wearing THE MOST
COLOURFUL.
4. Ed is THE TALLEST.
5. Joe is THE SMARTEST.

37. Fill in the correct form of the words in brackets
(comparative or superlative).
My house is (big) ____ than yours.
This flower is (beautiful) _______ than that one.
This is the (good) ______ book I have ever read.
Non-smokers usually live (long) _______ than
smokers.
Which is the (dangerous) _______ animal in the
world?
A holiday by the sea is (good) ______ than a holiday
in the mountains.
It is strange but often a coke is (expensive) ________
than a beer.
Who is the (rich) _________ woman on earth?
The weather this summer is even (bad) _______ than
last summer.
He was the (intelligent) _________ thief of all.

38. Rules in
Degree of
Comparison

39. 1. Adjectives of one syllable
Adjectives of one syllable add -
er and -est. Adjectives ending on
'e' just add -r and -st.
Some adjectives double the
final consonant.

41. 2. Adjectives of two syllables
• Some adjectives of two
syllables add -er and -est. For
adjectives ending in ‘y’ – cut y
then add -ier and -iest.

42. 2. Adjectives of two syllables
• Adjectives ending in -ful, -less, -ing,
-ed use more/less and most/least.
• Some other adjectives of two
syllables use more and most (modern,
famous, normal, correct, ...).

44. 3. Adjectives of three or more
syllables
• Adjectives of three or
more syllables use more or
less and most or least.

46. 4. Irregular adjectives
• Adjectives which are irregular
in form change the spelling or the
word when comparing two or more
than nouns.
• You will have to memorize
these.