Today, we’re going to learn positive, comparative, and superlative adjectives.
Definition of Positive Comparative Superlative Adjectives
What exactly are positive, comparative, and superlative adjectives? Let’s start with a quick definition before diving into examples and exercises to help you master these forms.
Positive Adjectives
Positive adjectives are the simplest form of adjectives. They describe the qualities of a noun without making any comparisons. For instance, if you see a beautiful flower, you may describe it as “lovely,” “bright,” or “fragrant.” These adjectives stand alone without comparing the flower to anything else.
Comparative Adjectives
Comparative adjectives, on the other hand, are used to compare two things. They demonstrate a difference in quality between two nouns. To form a comparative adjective, you usually add “-er” to the end of the adjective, though there are exceptions. For example, “The flower is more beautiful than the house.” Here, we are comparing the flowers to the house, noting that the flowers are superior in terms of beauty.
Superlative Adjectives
Superlative adjectives take the comparison to the highest level by expressing the highest degree of a quality. They are used to compare one person, place, or thing to a group or category as a whole. To form a superlative adjective, you typically add “-est” to the adjective, but again, there are exceptions. For example, “The flower is the most beautiful in the garden.” Here, we are saying that the flower has the highest level of beauty among all the flowers in the garden.
Examples of Positive, Comparative, Superlative Adjectives
Let’s take a closer look at these three forms using some common adjectives as examples:
Positive: The sun is hot.
Comparative: The sun is hotter than the moon.
Superlative: The sun is the hottest star in the universe.
See more examples below:
- I am taller than my mother.
- This car is better than that car.
- Giving examples is more difficult than giving instructions.
- My wife is younger than I am.
- His watch is more expensive than my car.
Superlative Adjective Examples
- My father is the oldest person in my family.
- These are the most expensive things I can buy.
- Bill is the richest guy in the world.
- She’s active in the most popular social media website.
- Who’s the most powerful man in the world?
Positive Comparative Superlative Adjectives Rules
To have a better understanding of how adjective comparison works, let’s delve it into the concept and the rules of this comparison adjective:
There are three degrees of comparison. They are :
- Positive
- Comparative
- Superlative
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
| bright tall important |
brighter taller more important |
brightest tallest most important |
One Syllable Adjectives
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
| dear free hard high light right sharp small |
dearer freer harder higher lighter righter sharper smaller |
dearest freest hardest highest lightest rightest sharpest smallest |
One Syllable Adjectives Ending in ‘e’
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
| safe brave nice fine ripe |
safer braver nicer finer riper |
safest bravest nicest finest ripest |
Two or More Syllable Adjectives
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
| amusing beautiful boring correct economical expensive frightening generous important intelligent interesting natural patient populated sociable valuable |
more amusing more beautiful more boring more correct more economical more expensive more frightening more generous more important more intelligent more interesting more natural more patient more populated more sociable more valuable |
most amusing most beautiful most boring most correct most economical most expensive most frightening most generous most important most intelligent most interesting most natural most patient most populated most sociable most valuable |
Notes: More patient and most patient are more commonly used than patienter and patientest.
Adverb comparative: often more often most often (more widely used than oftener and oftenest)
See the difference between adjectives ending in ing and ed here.
Two Syllable Adjectives Ending in y, er, ly
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
| happy funny clever silly pretty early noisy quiet wealthy |
happier funnier cleverer sillier prettier earlier noisier quieter wealthier |
happiest funniest cleverest silliest prettiest earliest noisiest quietest wealthiest |
Two Syllable Adjectives Ending in ful and re
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
| doubtful harmful obscure |
more doubtful more harmful more obscure |
most doubtful most harmful most obscure |
Irregular
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
| bad far good little many/much old |
worse farther/further better less more older/elder |
worst farthest/furthest best least most oldest/eldest |
Two Forms
Some adjectives have two comparative and superlative forms. They can use -er/est or more/most. See table 1.
Table 1
Farther And Further
- From Hongkong, Jakarta is farther than Kuala Lumpur.
- My school is farther than my father’s office.
Older And Elder
- my elder brother
- his eldest son
- John is older than George.
Comparative Adjective in Sentences
- The new governor is closer to his people than the older one.
- Corruption is more dangerous than bomb blasts.
- The boy is stronger than I expected.
Superlative Adjectives In Sentences
- He is the richest man on earth.
- This is the best wine I have ever drunk.
- This is the oldest building in Paris.
- This is the hottest month of the year.
- We stay in one of the nicest room in the hotel.
- What is the highest mountain in the world?
Positive, Comparative and Superlative Adjectives Table
If you want to have a solid understanding of positive, comparative, and superlative adjectives, these tables allow you to understand and express degrees of comparison and make our descriptions more vivid. So, as you explore the vibrant world of adjectives, remember to compare, contrast, and choose the perfect word to bring your conversations to life!
See table 2 for the most commonly-used adjectives.
Table 2
More Positive, Comparative, and Superlative Adjectives
Download the table in Google drive here.
If you need communicative activities for teaching this topic, see this post.
Positive, Comparative and Superlative Adjectives Exercises
I. A. Table Completion of Comparative and Superlative Adjective Exercise
Complete the table with correct comparative and superlative adjectives
I. B. Identifying Comparative or Superlative Adjectives Exercise
- My girlfriend is (taller, the tallest) than me.
- I’m (younger, the youngest) of the family.
- Can you visit me (oftener, more often)?
- It’s (more expensive, the most expensive) house I’ve ever seen.
- What is (larger, the largest) city in your country?
- My mother is (older, the oldest) than my father.
- Mr. Solihin is much (older, the oldest) than I expected.
- Surabaya is (bigger, the biggest) than Bandung.
- Love is (more valuable, the most valuable) thing in our life.
- She’s (more beautiful, the most beautiful) girl in our class.
II. Sentence Completion Exercise
- It’s a very cheap jacket. …………………………..I’ve ever bought.
- It’s a very large bedroom. ………………………….I’ve ever slept in.
- She’s a very beautiful girl. ………………………….at school.
- He’s a very good player. …………………………of the team.
- It’s a very beautiful city. …………………………in Norway.
- Jack is very tall. …………………………….in my class.
- It’s a very popular website in our country. ………………………………… in our country.
- He’s a very nice guy. ………………………………….I’ve ever known.
- Bill is a very generous man. ……………………………………..ever.
- It’s a very touching story. …………………………………….I’ve ever read.
III. Sentence Completion Exercise
Complete the sentences with the correct comparative or superlative adjectives. Put correct prepositions.
-
John is eighteen while I am only sixteen. So, I am ………………….him.
-
Icha is ……………………..girl in my class. She’s 170 cms tall.
-
She’s ………………………girl at the party. Everyone admired her.
-
Mount Everest is ……………….mountain in the world.
-
Ringo is a ………………. drummer ….John.
-
What is ………………river in the world?
-
Mercedes is ……………………….Toyota.
-
Jakarta is ……………………..Paris.
-
My father is one year ……………….my mother. He is fifty-one, while she is fifty.
-
This chair is ……………………………that chair. That’s why, I always sit here.
IV. Paragraph Completion Exercise | Positive Comparative Superlative Adjectives
|
big consumerist few few good happy high high hot large much patient |
Dear Peggy,
Some people have told you that it does not make any difference whether you stay in Jakarta or Bandung. Before you make a decision, let me give some information about the cities. There are no identical cities in this world. Even cities in the same countries and provinces are different in many ways such as location, size, language, climate, and lifestyle. Likewise, Jakarta and Bandung are different in many aspects.
Firstly, the two cities have different temperatures. Jakarta is a lot 1. ………… than Jakarta. That’s why Jakartans spend 2.………… money on air conditioners. Secondly, the cities are also different in size. Jakarta, with around 664 square kilometers, is about four times 3…………. than Bandung. It’s not surprising that the number of population of Jakarta is a lot 4…….…… than that of Bandung. Thirdly, both cities speak different languages. Most of Jakarta’s population speak Bahasa Indonesia whereas there are 5..…………..people in Bandung who speak the Indonesia’s national language; most of them speak Sundanese Language.
In addition, a lot of Jakarta’s population are 6..…………… due to their 7………….. income compared to that of Bandung’s population. However, it seems to me that most people who live in Bandung are 8.…………….than those who live in Jakarta. In Bandung people are 9…..………… with the congested traffic. You can hear 10.…………. pressed-horn in Bandung. Meanwhile, if you drive in Jakarta, you can often hear angrily-pressed horn.
In spite of the differences, you can still enjoy the friendliness of both Indonesia cities. Welcome to Indonesia. Hopefully, you can choose which city is better for you.
Yours,
Jim
Answer
I. A. Table Completion of Positive Comparative Superlative Adjective Exercise
I. B. Identifying Comparative or Superlative Adjectives Exercise
- My girlfriend is taller than me.
- I’m the youngest of the family.
- Can you visit me more often ?
- It’s the most expensive house I’ve ever seen.
- What is the largest city in your country?
- My mother is older than my father.
- Mr. Solihin is much older than I expected.
- Surabaya is bigger than Bandung.
- Love is the most valuable thing in our life.
- She’s the most beautiful girl in our class.
II. Sentence Completion Exercise
- It’s a very cheap jacket. It’s the cheapest jacket I’ve ever bought.
- It’s a very large bedroom. It’s the largest bedroom I’ve ever slept in.
- She’s a very beautiful girl. She’s the most beautiful girl at school.
- He’s a very good player. He’s the best player of the team.
- It’s a very beautiful city. It’s the most beautiful city in Norway.
- Jack is very tall. Jack is the tallest boy in my class.
- It’s a very popular website in our country. It’s the most popular website in our country.
- He’s a very nice guy. He’s the nicest guy I’ve ever known.
- Bill is a very generous man. Bill is the most generous man ever.
- It’s a very touching story. It’s the most touching story I’ve ever read.
III. Sentence Completion Exercise
-
John is eighteen while I am only sixteen. So, I am younger than him.
-
Icha is the tallest girl in my class. She’s 170 cms tall.
-
She’s the most attractive girl at the party. Everyone admired her.
-
Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
-
Ringo is a better drummer than John.
-
What is the longest river in the world?
-
Mercedes is more expensive than Toyota.
-
Jakarta is more populated than Paris.
-
My father is one year older than my mother. He is fifty-one, while she is fifty.
-
This chair is more comfortable than that chair. That’s why, I always sit here.
IV. Paragraph Completion Exercise
-
hotter
-
more
-
bigger/larger
-
higher
-
fewer
-
more consumerist
-
higher/better
-
happier
-
more patient
-
fewer
Related Topics to Positive Comparative Superlative Adjectives
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