To compare two people, places, or things, use the comparative form of adjectives or adverbs. Comparisons often use the word than.
Carol ran faster than I did.
Johan is more intelligent than his sister.
To compare three or more people, places, or things, use the superlative form of adjectives or adverbs.
Carol ran the fastest of all the women runners.
Johan is the most intelligent of the five children.
If an adjective or adverb is short (one syllable), add the endings -er to form the comparative and -est to form the superlative. Also use this pattern for adjectives that end in -y (but change the -y to -i before adding -er or -est).
For all other adjectives and adverbs, add the word more to make the comparative and the word most to make the superlative.
Forming Comparatives and Superlatives
| ADJECTIVE OR ADVERB | COMPARATIVE | SUPERLATIVE |
|---|---|---|
| ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS OF ONE SYLLABLE | ||
| tall | taller | tallest |
| fast | faster | fastest |
| ADJECTIVES ENDING IN –Y | ||
| happy | happier | happiest |
| silly | sillier | silliest |
| OTHER ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS | ||
| graceful | more graceful | most graceful |
| gracefully | more gracefully | most gracefully |
| intelligent | more intelligent | most intelligent |
| intelligently | more intelligently | most intelligently |
Use either an ending (-er or -est) or an extra word (more or most) to form a comparative or superlative — not both at once.
J. K. Rowling is the most richest author in the world.