Comparison: comparative and superlative adjectives

1   Short adjectives

(adjectives with one syllable; adjectives with two syllables ending in -y)

ADJECTIVE	COMPARATIVE	SUPERLATIVE
old	older	oldest	Most adjectives:+ -er, -est.
tall	taller	tallest
cheap	cheaper	cheapest
late	later	latest	Adjectives ending in -e: + -r, -sf.
nice	nicer	nicest
fat	fatter	fattest	One vowel + one consonant: double consonant.
big	bigger	biggest
thin	thinner	thinnest
happy	happier	happiest	Change y to i.
easy	easier	easiest

2   Irregular comparatives and superlatives

ADJECTIVE	COMPARATIVE	SUPERLATIVE
good	better	best
bad	worse	worst
far	farther/further	farthest/furthest
old	older/elder	oldest/eldest
The determiners little and much/many have irregular comparatives and superlatives:
much/many	more	most

3   Longer adjectives

(adjectives with two syllables not ending in -y, adjectives with three or more syllables)

ADJECTIVE	COMPARATIVE	SUPERLATIVE
tiring	more tiring	most tiring
cheerful	more cheerful	most cheerful
handsome	more handsome	most handsome
intelligent	more intelligent	most intelligent
practical	more practical	most practical

Some two-syllable adjectives have two comparatives and superlatives:

• commoner/more common;
  


• politest!most polite.

We usually prefer the forms with more and most.