COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES.

A) THEORY

1. Comparatives

We use it to compare two people, things or animals. To do that we add word ‘than’.
We add ending –er to the adjective we use when it is short or has 1 syllable.
Adjective Comparative
fast faster
big bigger
slow slower
long longer
wide wider
tall taller
*A car is faster than a bike.
*John is taller than Bob.

1.1. If the word ends with -y, we add -ier.

Adjective Comparative
happy happier
lazy lazier
crazy crazier
*Ann is lazier than Sarah.

1.2. If the word is longer, has 2 or more than 2 syllables, we add word ‘more’ before it and leave
it as it is.
Adjective Comparative
interesting more interesting
beautiful more beautiful
difficult more difficult
*Math is more difficult than art.
*Paris is more beautiful than Rome.
FOR MORE VISUAL LEARNERS:
2. Superlatives.

We use it to compare one member of a group to a whole group.

We add ending –est.

Adjective Superlative
fast the fastest
big the biggest
slow the slowest
long the longest
wide the widest
tall the tallest
*Plane is the fastest transport.
*John is the tallest.

2.1. If the word ends with -y, we add -iest.

Adjective Superlative
happy the happiest
lazy the laziest
crazy the craziest
*Ann is the laziest girl in class.

2.2. If the word is longer, has more than 2 syllables, we add word ‘most’ before it and leave the
adjective as it is.
Adjective (īpašības v.) Superlative
interesting the most interesting
beautiful the most beautiful
difficult the most difficult
*Math is the most difficult subject at school.
*Paris is the most beautiful city in Europe.
FOR MORE VISUAL LEARNERS:
 B) PRACTICE

1. COMPARATIVES

1) Write the comparative form of the given adjective.

1 Clean - ___Cleaner_________
2 Cold - _____________________
3 Large - ____________________
4 Pretty - ____________________
5 Hot - ____________________
6 Interesting - __________________
7 Good - ____________________
8 Bad - _____________________

2) Read the sentence and write in the correct comparative form.

1 Alan is _________________ than Livia (tall)

2 Diana is _________________ than Alan (old)

3 Livia is _________________ than Diana(short)

4 Alan is _________________ than Livia (heavy)

5 Livia is _________________ than Diana (young)

6 Livia is _________________ than Alan (intelligent)

7 Diana is _________________ than Livia (beautiful)

8 Spain is _________________ than Canada (hot)

9 Canada is _________________ than Italy (big)

10Spanish is _________________ than Italian (easy)

YOU’RE DOING WELL! 

 2. SUPERLATIVES

1) Write the superlative form of the given adjectives.

1 Clean - ___the cleanest______
2 Shy - ___________________
3 Good - ___________________
4 Bad - ____________________
5 Fast - ____________________
6 Slow - ___________________
7 Difficult - ___________________
8 Weak - ___________________

2) Complete the sentences. Use the superlative form of the adjectives in brackets.

1. Who is the ________________ (tall) person in your family?

2. My mum is the ________________ (good) cook in the world.

3. December is the ________________ (cold) month of the year in my country.

4. What's the ________________ (dangerous) animal in the world?

5. Ethan is the ________________ (happy) boy that I know.

6. Where are the ________________ (nice) beaches in your country?

7. She bought the ________________ (big) cake in the shop.

8. Who is the ________________ (famous) singer in your country?

WELL DONE! 
 3. COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES (mixed exercises)

1) Form the degrees of comparisons (comparative and superlative)

1. nice ____nicer________ ___the nicest_____
2. short ________________ ________________
3. young ________________ ________________
4. new ________________ ________________
5. old ________________ ________________
6. careful ________________ ________________
7. modern ________________ ________________
8. popular ________________ ________________
9. dangerous ________________ ________________
10.expensive ________________ ________________
11.little ________________ ________________
12.bad ________________ ________________
13.good ________________ ________________
14.much/many ________________ ________________

2) Comparative or superlative? Read the sentences and decide the form.

1. April is ____________________ (warm) than January.
2. August is the ____________________ (hot) month of the year.
3. November is ____________________ (cold) than September.
4. It is the ____________________ (old) tree in this park.
5. My mobile is ____________________ (expensive) than yours.
6. This text is the ____________________ (easy) text in the book.
7. It is the ____________________ (boring) film this week.
8. Pam’s hair is ____________________ (long) than Kate’s hair.
9. I think it is the ____________________ (long) day.
10. The ____________________ (beautiful) place is Paris.
11. These cakes are the ____________________ (good) in this shop.
12. Your car is ____________________ (cheap) than mine.
13. Bob is ____________________ (tall) than Nick.
14. Sam is the ____________________ (tall) boy in our class.
15. Tom is two years ____________________ (young) than Paul.
 3) Reading exercise. The Incredible Family.

Hi, my name is Violet Parr, I’m 14 years old and

I live in the center of New York. Let me

introduce you to my family, I’ll start talking

about my youngest brother Jack Jack. He’s only

1 years old, weighs only 13 kilos and his main

power is shape shifting, it means he can change

into different forms. Then, I’ll continue talking

about my younger brother Dash. He is 10 years

old but he can run faster than anyone in the

family but I’m stronger than him. He also has

special powers like me. We can become invisible

and we have elastic arms but mum says that we can’t use our powers unless we

are in danger. To finish, I’ll talk about my parents, they are Helen and Bob Parr. My mum is 37 years

old and she is the most intelligent in the family my dad is 39 and can lift very heavy things so he’s

the strongest. We are a very special family as you can see. Now, tell me about yours, I’m sure that

you have a very special family too.

A Answer the questions about the text.

1. Who is the youngest in the family?
_____________________________________________________________

2. How old is Dash?

_____________________________________________________________

3. Who is the oldest?

_____________________________________________________________

4. Who is the most intelligent?

_____________________________________________________________

B Write True or False.

1. Jack Jack hasn’t got any special powers. __________
2. .Helen is two years younger than Bob. __________
3. Jack Jack is four years younger than Violet. __________
4. Violet is the fastest in the family. __________
 5. The strongest in the family is Bob. __________

4) Writing task. Write a short story about your own family. Use as many comparative
and superlative forms as you can.
My Family.

_______________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

5) Listening task.
A) Listen to the audio and complete the sentences with the correct form of the adjective
and the/than. Some sentences are comparative and some are superlative
Double-click on the audio file icon on the right and then Open or
https://esol.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/attachments/activity/c
omparisons%20audiomp3.mp3 comparisons-audio.
mp3

1. Kangaroos can jump ____________________ me. (high)

2. Mexican food is ____________________ Japanese food. (spicy)

3. This is ____________________ sofa in the shop. (comfortable)

4. Russia is ____________________ country in the world. (big)

5. Indian food is ____________________ food I have tasted. (spicy)

6. Everest is ____________________ mountain in the world. (high)

7. Trains are ____________________ buses. (comfortable)

8. Buckingham Palace is much ____________________ my house.

(big)
9. The more he practised English grammar, ____________________ he got. (good)
6) Physical activity - Group activity.

Instructions:
1. Divide the students in groups of 3. They can do it by
themselves or by the teacher’s chosen method (to include the
topic – make a line from the tallest to shortest / from the
oldest to youngest…)
2. In each group the students have to compare everything they can think of about themselves
(who is taller than whom, who is the shortest/youngest.., who has the most clothing items
on.. enything they can imagine) – using the comarative and superlative forms.

3. Set a specific time for the discussion, e.g. 5 minutes.

4. When the time is up – two of the group members (for example, the youngest and the oldest
one) change groups, but each chooses a different group (so that they are not together
again).
5. Repeat the activity.
6. You can do it as many times as you want or can (depends on the student count)

7) Online practice:
 https://www.english-grammar.at/online_exercises/adjective_adverb/ad021-comparatives-
superlatives.htm
 https://agendaweb.org/exercises/grammar/comparison/superlatives-1
 https://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=2070 (with more exercises)
 https://quizizz.com/admin/quiz/5cef73ceb681cb001ea0d193/comparative-and-superlative-adjectives
 https://quizizz.com/admin/quiz/5ca1659c2d2fbc001ac2c757/comparative-and-superlative
 https://quizizz.com/admin/quiz/5ae1d7583df56b001b724d83/comparative-and-superlative-
adjectives
 https://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=2065

8) Online games:
 https://www.eslgamesplus.com/comparatives-superlatives-wild-zoo-animals-vocabulary-grammar-
interactive-monkey-fun-activity/ (comparatives with animals)
 https://eslkidsworld.com/Interactive%20games/Grammar%20Games/Comparative%20&
%20Superlatives/comparatives%20and%20superlatives%20animals%20football%20quiz.html
(football)
 https://eslpuzzles.com/Grammar%20Games/Adjective%20Games/Comparatives%20Game
%20Pirate.html (pirates)
 https://www.eslgamesplus.com/space-and-solar-system-esl-vocabulary-game-moonshot-game/
(knowledge about planets, space)