| Formation of Comparative Adjectives There are two ways to make or form a comparative adjective: - short adjectives: add "-er"
- long adjectives: use "more"
| Short adjectives | | | old, fast | - 2-syllable adjectives ending in -y
| happy, easy | | Normal rule: add "-er" | old > older | | Variation: if the adjective
ends in -e, just add -r | late > later | | Variation: if the adjective
ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last consonant | big > bigger | | Variation: if the adjective
ends in -y, change the y to i | happy > happier | | Long adjectives | - 2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y
| modern, pleasant | - all adjectives of 3 or more syllables
| expensive, intellectual | | Normal rule: use "more" | modern > more modern expensive > more
expensive | | |  | With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use '-er'
or 'more': - quiet > quieter/more quiet
- clever > cleverer/more clever
- narrow > narrower/more narrow
- simple > simpler/more simple
| | Exception The following
adjectives have irregular forms: - good > better
- well (healthy) > better
- bad > worse
- far > farther/further
Use of Comparative
Adjectives » |