COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES

COMPARATIVE (2 things)

Short  adjectives:  1 sílaba

ADJECTIVE + ER + THAN

big (c-v-c)	Bigger than
old	Older than
nice	Nicer than
clean	Cleaner than
new	Newer than
Hot	Hotter than

A los adjetivos que llevan una “consonante+vocal+consonante”, se dobla la consonante.

Short  adjectives: 2 sílabas.

Cuando terminan en “ow”,”er”,”le” o “y”(ier)

            ADJECTIVE + ER + THAN

crazy	Crazier than
heavy	Heavier than
pretty	Prettier than
narrow	Narrower than
noble	Nobler than
clever	Cleverer than

Long  adjectives: 3 o más sílabas y de  2 sílabas cuando no terminen en “ow”,”er”,”le” o “y”.

                                          MORE + ADJECTIVE + THAN

Interesting	More interesting than
beautiful	More beautiful than
polite	More polite than
careful	More careful than
expensive	More expensive than
serious	More serious than

IRREGULAR ADJECTIVES

GOOD	BETTER THAN
BAD	WORSE THAN
FAR	FURTHER THAN

COMPARATIVE FORMS.

SUPERLATIVE (3 ó more things)

Short  adjectives:  1 sílaba

THE + ADJECTIVE + EST

COLD	THE COLDEST
HOT	THE HOTTEST
BIG	THE BIGGEST
OLD	THE OLDEST
TALL	THE TALLEST
SMALL	THE SMALLEST

A los adjetivos que llevan una “consonante+vocal+consonante”, se dobla la consonante.

Short  adjectives: 2 sílabas.

Cuando terminan en “ow”,”er”,”le” o “y”(iest)

PRETTY	THE PRETTIEST
SUNNY	THE SUNNIEST
NARROW	THE NARROWEST
NOBLE	THE NOBLEST

long  adjectives: 3 o más sílabas y de  2 sílabas cuando no terminen en “ow”,”er”,”le” o “y”.

            THE + MOST + ADJECTIVE

Interesting	The most interesting
beautiful	The most beautiful
polite	The most polite
careful	The most careful
expensive	The most expensive
serious	The most serious
Famous	The most famous

IRREGULAR ADJECTIVES

GOOD	THE BEST
BAD	THE WORST
FAR	THE FURTHEST

Positive Form

Use the positive form of the adjective if the comparison contains one of the following expressions:
as … as

Example: Jane is as tall as John.

not as … as / not so … as

Example: John is not as tall as Arnie

v     IN OR OF WITH THE SUPERLATIVE?

After superlatives, we don’t usually use of with a singular word referring to a place or group.

                        

o       I’m the happiest man in the world.

o       She’s the fastest player in the team.

But of can be used before plurals and for a period of time.

o       Jan’s the most competitive of all my sisters.

o       Yesterday was the hottest day of the year. 

v     MUCH, FAR, ETC. WITH COMPARATIVES

We cannot use very with comparatives. Instead, we use, for example, much, far, very much, a lot (informal), any, a little, a bit (informal) and even.

o       My boyfriend is much / far older than me.

o       Russian is much / far more difficult than Spanish.

o       much nicer.

o       a lot happier

o       a little less expensive

o       a bit more sensible (informal)

o       Is your mother any better?

o       Your cooking is even worse than Harry’s.

Comparative of equality

Otra de las formas de establecer una comparación entre dos cosas o personas es mediante la fórmula 'as... as', que se traduce por 'tan... como'.

En inglés, existen cuatro posibilidades de comparación mediante esta fórmula:

As + adjetivo + as:

You are not as tall as your brother.

As + adverbio + as:

She doesn't drive as quickly as Fernando Alonso.

As + much + nombre incontable + as:

They don't have as much money as the CEO.

As + many + nombre contable + as:

A dog doesn't have as many teeth as a shark.

Frecuentemente, usamos 'as... as' para describir algo y hacer hincapié en una cualidad o un defecto:

She is as blind as a bat - literalmente 'tan ciega como un murciélago' que quiere decir que ve realmente mal.

Un fallo muy frecuente es duplicar la comparación, empleando 'as... as' y el adjetivo en modo comparativo: 'as taller as' es incorrecto.

Otra posibilidad para establecer una comparación de igualdad es empleando la partícula 'like', que significa 'parecido a':

I slept like a log - literalmente 'dormí como un tronco', pero quiere decir que has dormido muy profundamente.

Comparison of inferiority

To form the comparative of inferiority have to put LESS (menos) followed by the adjective THAN (ese enfoque) and it does not matter the number of syllables.

LESS THAN + adjective +
UNLESS YOU + adjective +
 The director is less smart than my boss.

(El director está menos dispuesta que mi jefe)

Los Angeles is less interesting than Paris.

(Los Angeles es menos interesante que Paris)

FRASES RELACIONADAS

1. Que yo sepa, el procedimiento no va a cambiar.	1. As far as I know, the procedure is not going to change.
2. Él está muy pálido.	2. He is as white as a sheet.
3. El pan está muy duro.	3. The bread is as hard as a rock.
4. Pueden alquilar el cortacésped siempre que dejen una señal.	4. They can rent the lawnmower as long as they leave a deposit.
5. Ella es muy lenta.	5. She is as slow as molasses.
6. Están muy morenos.	6. They are as brown as a nut.
7. Él era muy delgado cuando era joven.	7. He was as thin as a rail when he was younger.
8. Mándame un mensaje tan pronto como sepas le decisión.	8. Send me a message as soon as you know the decision.
9. Qué cabeza tienes.	9. You have a head like a sieve.
10. Ellos beben mucho alcohol.	10. They drink like fish.
11. Ella estaba muy enferma después de comer allí.	11. She was as sick as a dog after eating there.
12. Esa información es muy valiosa.	12. That information is as good as gold.
13. Andábamos muy silenciosamente.	13. We walked as quietly as a mouse.
14. La cama es muy pesada.	14. The bed is as heavy as lead.
15. Él es un cerdo comiendo.	15. He eats like a pig.
16. Tiene más peligro (ella) que un saco de bombas.	16. She's like a bull in a china shop.
17. Él es más corto que las mangas de un chaleco.	17. He's as dumb as a stump.
18. El pelo del perro es muy blanco.	18. The dog's fur is as white as snow.
19. Los turistas están como cangrejos.	19. The tourists are as red as lobsters.
20. Ella estaba muy floja.	20. She was as limp as a rag.
21. Martín tiene vista de lince.	21. Martin has eyes like a hawk.
22. La tortilla está muy seca.	22. The omelette is as dry as a bone.
23. Ellos están ocupadísimos.	23. They are as busy as bees/beavers.
24. Él está como un toro.	24. He's as strong as an ox.
25. Dormí de maravilla.	25. I slept like a log.

 Superlative of inferiority

To form the superlative of inferiority, you must put the Least (the least, at least, the least the least) to the adjective. Does not matter the number of syllables.

The Least + adjective

I'd like / THE LEAST + adjective

James is the least nice neighbor in the area.

(James es el vecino menos agradable en la zona)

This book is the least expensive.

(este libro es el menos caro)

This house is the least comfortable.

(esta casa es la menos confortable)

These books are the least expensive.

(estos libros son los menos caros)

These houses are the least comfortable.

(estas casas son las menos confortables)

EXERCISE: COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES

EXERCISE 1    EXERCISE 2       EXERCISE 3   EXERCISE 4  EXERCISE 5

EXERCISE 1	EXERCISE 2	EXERCISE 3	EXERCISE 4	EXERCISE 5
EXERCISE 6	EXERCISE 7	EXERCISE 8	EXERCISE 9	EXERCISE 10
EXERCISE 11	EXERCISE 12	EXERCISE 13	EXERCISE 14	EXERCISE 15
EXERCISE 16	EXERCISE 17			EXERCISE 18

Link 1: COMPARATIVES
Linkk 2: SUPERLATIVES
Link 3:COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES
Link 4:COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES
Link 5:COMPARATIVES
Link 6:SUPERLATIVES

Link 1:COMPARATIVES
Link 2:COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES
Link 3:COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES
Link 4:COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES

EXERCISE 1
EXERCISE 2
EXERCISE 3