COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES & ADVERBS

A.      DEFINITION

Adjective – a word used to modify or describe a noun or pronoun.
Adverb – a word that is used to modify an adjective, verb, or adverb.

B.      POSITIVE, COMPARATIVE and SUPERLATIVE Forms of ADJECTIVES

There are three forms of adjectives and adverbs used to show varying degrees of comparison: the positive, the comparative, and the superlative.

The positive form is used when there is no direct comparison being made to anything specific, but is used to offer a broad or general comparison.

The comparative form is used when two things are being compared with each other.

The superlative form is used when more than two things are being compared with one another.

C.     REGULAR FORMS for ONE and TWO  Syllable Words.

positive – no change (big, strong, long, etc.)
comparative – words end in "er" (bigger, stronger, longer, etc.)
superlative – words end in "est" (biggest, strongest, longest, etc.)

D.     REGULAR FORMS  for THREE or MORE Syllable Words.

positive – no change (understandable, comfortable, etc.)
comparative – use "more" (more understandable, more comfortable, etc.)
superlative – use "most" (most understandable, most comfortable, etc.)

Adverbs that end in "ly" always use "more" or "most", such as "more quickly" or "most quickly"..

Remember that these are general rules and many adjectives and adverbs have irregular forms

E.      COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES

 An adjective has three stages of comparison.

It is said to be positive in its simple form:

• the wise judge
• the quick hare
• the beautiful goddess.

In the comparative it is compared with someone or something else:

• the judge is wiser than the general
• the hare is quicker than the tortoise
• Aphrodite is more beautiful than Hera.

The superlative gives a superiority to all else in the category:

• the wisest judge
• the quickest animal
• the most beautiful goddess.

F.      ADVERBS AND THEIR COMPARISON

An adjective describes a noun and agrees with it in gender, number and case. An adjective usually has a corresponding adverb which accompanies a verb or explains how the action of the verb is performed, e.g.

• The beautiful goddess sings beautifully

where beautiful is an adjective describing goddess, but beautifully is an adverb explaining sings.

In English an adjective is converted to an adverb by adding -ly (wise, wisely),

With the positive, comparative and superlative forms of adjectives you can express that something is for example as good as something else (positive form), better (comparative form) or best (superlative form).

Have a go and see how you do!

G.      EXERCISE of ADJECTIVES & ADVERBS COMPARISON

Exercise 1

Exercise on Comparison of Adjectives (as ... as)

Fill in the comparison with as ... as.

1. John is (tall) Glen.
2. Janet is (beautiful) Jeniffer.
3. You are (crazy) my sister.
4. We can run (fast) they can.
5. My mom is (not / strict) your mum.
6. Your mobile phone is (not / trendy) mine.
7. Matrix II was (not / interesting) Matrix I.
8. This yoghurt (not / taste / good) the one I bought yesterday.
9. I can do (many / press-ups) you.
10. I (not / earn / much / money) you do.

 

Exercise 2

Exercise on Comparison of Adjectives

Fill in the correct form of the words in brackets (comparative or superlative).

1. My house is (big) than yours.
2. This flower is (beautiful) than that one.
3. This is the (interesting) book I have ever read.
4. Non-smokers usually live (long) than smokers.
5. Which is the (dangerous) animal in the world?
6. A holiday by the sea is (good) than a holiday in the mountains.
7. It is strange but often a coke is (expensive) than a beer.
8. Who is the (rich) woman on earth?
9. The weather this summer is even (bad) than last summer.
10. He was the (clever) thief of all.

 

Exercise 3

Exercise on Comparison of Adverbs

Fill in the correct adverb form (comparative or superlative) of the adjectives in brackets.

1. I speak English (fluent) now than last year.
2. She greeted me (polite) of all.
3. She smiled (happy) than before.
4. This girl dances (graceful) of all.
5. Could you write (clear) ?
6. Planes can fly (high) than birds.
7. He had an accident last year. Now, he drives (careful) than before.
8. Jim can run (fast) than John.
9. Our team played (bad) of all.
10. He worked (hard) than ever before.

 

Exercise 4

Exercise - Adjective or Adverb

Write down the correct form of the word in brackets (adjective or adverb).

1. Tom is (slow) . He works .
2. Sue is a (careful) girl. She climbed up the ladder .
3. The dog is (angry) . It barks .
4. He acted (excellent) . He's an actor.
5. They learn English (easy) . They think English is an language.
6. Max is a (good) singer. He sings .
7. It's (awful) cold today. The cold wind is .
8. Dogs rely on their noses as they can smell (extreme / good) . If that is true, why does dog food smell so (terrible) ?
9. The little boy looked (sad) . I went over to comfort him and he looked at me .
10. I tasted the soup (careful) but it tasted (wonderful) .

Exercise 5

            Read carefully the following text, then answer the questions as best as you can

London lies on the river Thames and is the capital of the United Kingdom. With about 7 million inhabitants, it is one of the largest cities in the world.

Lots of tourists visit London every year. There are plenty of museums, theatres and interesting sights, for example the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament with their clock tower, Big Ben.

Grammar Exercise on the Text

Positive, Comparative and Superlative Forms of Adjectives

Fill in the correct form of the following adjectives.

1. London is the (large) city in Great Britain.
2. No other British city has as (many) inhabitants as London.
3. The London underground, the tube, is the (old) underground in the world.
4. The Tower of London is one of the (famous) London sights.
5. Another sight is the London Eye. With its 135 metres, it is (tall) than any other big wheel in the world.

Exercise 6

Exercise “The three little pigs” – Part 1

Fill in the correct form of the adjective or adverb.

1. Once upon a time there were three little pigs who wanted to see the world. When the they left home, their mum gave them some advice: Whatever you do, do it the (good) you can.
2. So the three pigs wandered through the world and were the (happy) pigs you've ever seen.
3. They were playing (funny) games all summer long, but then came autumn and each pig wanted to build a house.
4. The first pig was not only the (small) but also the (lazy) of the pigs.
5. He (quick) built a house out of straw.
6. The second pig made his house out of wood which was a bit (difficult) than building a straw house.
7. The third pig followed his mum's advice and built a strong house out of bricks, which was the (difficult) house to build.
8. The pig worked very (hard) , but finally got his house ready before winter.
9. During the cold winter months, the three little pigs lived (extreme) (good) in their houses.
10. They (regular) visited one another and had the (wonderful) time of their lives.

Exercise 7

Exercise “The three little pigs” – Part 2

Fill in the correct form of the adjective or adverb.

1. One night, however, a wolf came to the place where the three little pigs lived. It was the (horrible) wolf in the whole wide world.
2. Being (terrible) hungry, he went straight to the straw house.
3. "Let me in, little pig," the wolf shouted out (angry) , "or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down!"
4. The pig didn't let him in, but as the house was made out of straw, the wolf blew it down (easy) .
5. The little pig ran to his brother's house as (fast) as he could. But the wolf followed him to the wooden house.
6. "Open up, little pigs," he shouted even (angry) .
7. Then he huffed and puffed and it didn't take him much (long) to blow the house down.
8. The two pigs (nervous) ran to their brother who lived in the brick house.
9. The wolf followed them (grim) .
10. "Open the door," he shouted (furious) .
11. As the pigs didn't open, the wolf huffed and puffed (heavy) . But the stone house didn't fall down.
12. From all the huffing and puffing the wolf became even (hungry) .
13. With his last power he (slow) climbed up the house to get in through the chimney.
14. The pigs saw this and (hasty) lit a fire.
15. When the wolf climbed down the chimney, he fell into the fire which was (awful) hot.
16. He burnt his bum (bad) and ran away.
17. From that day on, the pigs had no more trouble with the wolf and they lived (happy) ever after.

 

Exercise 8

            Select the best choice of next problems

1. I am the ___ speaker in the class.

best
bestest
better

2. Our teacher writes very ___.

best
good
well

3. Of all the people I know, you study the ___.

leastest
least
less

4. We think John is ___ than Bill.

more nervous
nervouser
most nervous

5. Who is the ___ person you have ever spoken to?

most intelligent
more intelligent
intelligentest

6. If I had to choose between Greg and Dan, Dan is ___

funnier
the funniest
funny

7. This is _________

most harder
harder
more harder

8. Of all three of you, she swims ___

better
best
worse

9. Who is the ___ to succeed?

least likely
most like
likely

10. Now I understand English ___

much better
the better
best