{"id":16481,"date":"2020-10-19T17:21:23","date_gmt":"2020-10-19T17:21:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lingobest.com\/free-online-english-course\/?p=16481"},"modified":"2022-12-16T11:44:17","modified_gmt":"2022-12-16T11:44:17","slug":"comparative-adjectives-examples-exercises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lingobest.com\/free-online-english-course\/comparative-adjectives-examples-exercises\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use Comparative Adjectives with Examples and Exercises"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We are always comparing things. Food, cars, people, furniture… everything. Being able to consider the qualities of two things and form an opinion about them is one of the most important functions of language. To do this, you have to understand how to use adjectives. In this article, you can learn about adjectives and their comparative forms in English. You will also find a great list of rules for forming comparative adjectives<\/strong> correctly and some comparative exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are adjectives?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before taking a look at the rules for comparing things, it is important to review adjectives and their purpose. Read the sentence below. Can you identify which word is the adjective?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

India is a beautiful country.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

If you said \u2018beautiful\u2019, you are correct! Beautiful is describing the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adjectives are words we use to describe people or things. There are only two positions an adjective can take in a sentence. It can go before the noun which it modifies<\/strong> (\u2018beautiful country\u2019) or after a linking verb<\/strong>. Linking verbs include: be, look, taste, feel, sound and smell. If the adjective comes after a verb, it is called a predicative adjective and it links the subject to the adjective. Below are a few examples (the verb is bold<\/strong> and the adjective is italic<\/em>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • The shirts are<\/strong> cheap<\/em> in this store.<\/li>
  • Your watch looks<\/strong> expensive<\/em>. How much did you pay for it?<\/li>
  • This dog is<\/strong> friendly<\/em>. Feel free to pet him!<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Look at some more sentences and think about their positions. Are they before a noun or after a linking verb? The adjectives are in italic<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • He got a perfect<\/em> score on the test!<\/li>
    • John is a handsome<\/em> man.<\/li>
    • Her hair looks<\/em> beautiful.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      The 25 most common adjectives in English<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Adjectives are extremely important for English learners because they help you express your opinions and describe people, objects, and places. As we have mentioned before, they are also used when we need to make comparisons. There are several adjectives in the English language and you can always work on adding more and more adjectives to your vocabulary. However, there are 25 common adjectives that you must know! Let\u2019s have a look at them below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      good<\/td>great<\/td>right<\/td>large<\/td>few<\/td><\/tr>
      new<\/td>little<\/td>big<\/td>next<\/td>public<\/td><\/tr>
      first<\/td>own<\/td>high<\/td>early<\/td>bad<\/td><\/tr>
      last<\/td>other<\/td>different<\/td>young<\/td>same<\/td><\/tr>
      long<\/td>old<\/td>small<\/td>important<\/td>able<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
      The 25 most common adjectives in English<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Rules to form comparative adjectives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      There are 5 rules<\/strong> when it comes to forming comparatives in English. They are easy to learn and you will be using them soon. But before taking a look at the rules, it is important to understand the structure of a comparative sentence. Let\u2019s use the sentence below as an example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Julia is 170 cm. Her friend is 160 cm.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

      We can combine these two sentences to compare Julia and her friend by height (the number of centimeters they measure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Julia is taller than her friend.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

      The verb stays the same \u2013 \u2018is.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You can use two adjectives in this situation, either tall or short because they are opposites. I chose to use \u2018tall\u2019 because it is a more common word. The sentence could just as easily be \u2018Julia\u2019s friend is shorter than her.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u2018Than\u2019 is the word we use to add the second noun that we are comparing. The sentence is incorrect if you do not use the word \u2018than\u2019 and the second noun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Julia is taller.<\/s><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u2018Her friend\u2019 is the object of the sentence, in this case \u2018her friend\u2019 is the person to whom we are comparing Julia.<\/p>\n\n\n

      \n
      \"comparative
      Julia is taller than<\/strong> her friend.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

      Rule #1 – One syllable adjective? Add -er<\/h3>\n\n\n
      \n
      \"comparative
      Dictionaries put small separators between each syllable<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

      If an adjective has one syllable, you need to add -er to the word to make it comparative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      A syllable is a voiced part of a word. For example, the word water<\/em> has two syllables: wa-ter<\/strong>. The word drink<\/em> has only one syllable. The word elephant <\/em>has three syllables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If you are unsure about how many syllables one adjective has, you can use the clap trick. It is very simple: clap every time you open your mouth while saying a word. You can also check a dictionary that will put small separators between each syllable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Look at the examples below of adjectives, the comparative form and a sample sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Adjective<\/td>long<\/td><\/tr>
      Comparative form<\/td>longer<\/td><\/tr>
      Example<\/td>The Amazon River is longer<\/strong> than<\/em> the Seine.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      Adjective<\/td>small<\/td><\/tr>
      Comparative form<\/td>smaller<\/td><\/tr>
      Example<\/td>His house is smaller<\/strong><\/em> than<\/em> his mother\u2019s apartment.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      Adjective<\/td>tall<\/td><\/tr>
      Comparative form<\/td>taller<\/td><\/tr>
      Example<\/td>Nick is taller<\/strong> than<\/em> Mike.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      Adjective<\/td>nice<\/td><\/tr>
      Comparative form<\/td>nicer
      *if the one-syllable verb ends in -e, just add -r to make the comparative form<\/td><\/tr>
      Example<\/td>The teacher is nicer<\/strong> than<\/em> the principal.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Rule #2 – Drop the -y, add -ier<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      For adjectives ending in -y, we drop the -y and add -ier to the word. Take a look at some comparative adjective examples<\/strong> below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Adjective<\/td>lazy<\/td><\/tr>
      Comparative form<\/td>lazier<\/td><\/tr>
      Example<\/td>She is lazier<\/strong> than<\/em> her younger sister.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      Adjective<\/td>happy<\/td><\/tr>
      Comparative form<\/td>happier<\/td><\/tr>
      Example<\/td>Greg is happier<\/strong> than<\/em> me.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      Adjective<\/td>crazy<\/td><\/tr>
      Comparative form<\/td>crazier<\/td><\/tr>
      Example<\/td>This babysitter is crazier<\/strong> than<\/em> the previous one.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Rule #3 – C-V-C? Double the last consonant, add -er<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      If the adjective ends in \u201cc-v-c\u201d (consonant-vowel-consonant), we need to double the last consonant and add -er.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Adjective<\/td>big<\/td><\/tr>
      Comparative form<\/td>bigger<\/td><\/tr>
      Example<\/td>That car is bigger<\/strong> than<\/em> this one.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      Adjective<\/td>hot<\/td><\/tr>
      Comparative form<\/td>hotter<\/td><\/tr>
      Example<\/td>Florida is hotter<\/strong> than <\/em>Colorado.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n

      [fusion_fusionslider name=”english-courses” full_height=”no” offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” \/]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Rule #4 – Two or more syllables? Add ‘more’<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      For words who have 2 or more syllables, we use the word \u2018more\u2019 to create the comparative. Here are some examples of comparative adjectives<\/strong> in use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      • Famous – Angelina Jolie is more famous<\/strong> than Zac Efron.<\/li>
      • Beautiful – My sister is more beautiful<\/strong> than my cousin.<\/li>
      • Intelligent – I am more intelligent<\/strong> than my best friend.<\/li>
      • Modern – This laptop is more modern<\/strong> than my old typewriter.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n
        \n
        \"laptop,
        This laptop is more modern<\/strong> than my old typewriter.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

        Rule #5 – Irregular forms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        Yes, there are exceptions to the rules! We have to memorize the comparative form of these three adjectives. So really, it’s not so bad! Let\u2019s have a look at the irregular comparative adjectives examples<\/strong> below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Adjective<\/td>good<\/td><\/tr>
        Comparative form<\/td>better<\/td><\/tr>
        Example sentence with a comparative adjective<\/td>Eating vegetables is better<\/strong> than<\/em> eating cake.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
        Adjective<\/td>bad<\/td><\/tr>
        Comparative form<\/td>worse<\/td><\/tr>
        Example<\/td>The movie was worse<\/strong> than<\/em> the book.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
        Adjective<\/td>far<\/td><\/tr>
        Comparative form<\/td>farther (away)<\/td><\/tr>
        Example<\/td>Los Angeles is farther<\/strong> (away) than<\/em> New York.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        Comparative adjective exercises: speaking cards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        In the cards below you will see questions related to seven topics. All the questions use the comparative form of the adjectives. It’s time to talk!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n