Irregular Adjectives

A small number of adjectives are irregular in the way they make comparative and superlative forms.

The normal (regular) way to make comparative and superlative adjectives is to add -er/-est or use more/most, like this:

  • big → bigger → biggest
  • expensive → more expensive → most expensive

Irregular adjectives use completely different forms. Note, however, that some adjectives can be both regular and irregular, sometimes with a slight change in meaning. The most important irregular adjectives are listed in the table below.

adjective comparative superlative example sentence
good better the best irregular Tara is the best athlete in the school.
well (healthy) better the best He is still in hospital, but he is better than he was last week.
bad worse the worst irregular You are the worst driver I have ever known.
far further the furthest irregular My house is the furthest one.
farther the farthest regular My house is the farther one.
old (people in a family) elder the eldest irregular Ram is my elder brother.
old (general use) older the oldest regular Your teacher is older than my teacher.