Do you know how to use comparative adjectives like faster, bigger, and more expensive? Enhance your knowledge with a lesson given below and the grammar explanation to guide you better.
Look at these examples to see how comparative adjectives are used:
This car is faster than my old one.
His new apartment is bigger than the last one.
The restaurant is more expensive than I expected.
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Grammar explanation - Comparative adjectives
We use comparative adjectives to highlight differences between two things or to indicate a change. The way we form the comparative depends on the number of syllables in the adjective.
1. Adjectives with one syllable
To form comparatives with one-syllable adjectives, we usually add -er:
tall → taller
cold → colder
short → shorter
If an adjective ends in -e, we simply add -r:
large → larger
close → closer
If an adjective ends in a vowel followed by a consonant, we usually double the consonant:
fat → fatter
wet → wetter
2. Adjectives with two or more syllables
If a two-syllable adjective ends in a consonant and -y, we change -y to -i and add -er:
busy → busier
funny → funnier
hungry → hungrier
For most other two-syllable adjectives, and for all adjectives with three or more syllables, we use more to form the comparative:
careful → more careful
peaceful → more peaceful
comfortable → more comfortable
Exception: Some two-syllable adjectives can either add -er or use more, such as common, clever, quiet, narrow, gentle, and pleasant.
This road is narrower than the one we took before.
His explanation was more gentle than I expected.
3. Irregular adjectives
Some adjectives have irregular comparative forms:
little → less
much → more
far → further/farther
Than
To indicate what we are comparing, we use than:
The cake is sweeter than the one you made last time.
This movie is more exciting than the previous one.
She finished her homework faster than her brother.