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.

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.

Try another grammar lesson