Study materials
Picture two cafes side by side. The same price can be described in three different sentences, and each one lands differently.
The new cafe is cheaper than the old one.
The new cafe is as cheap as the old one.
The new cafe isn't as cheap as the old one.
That is the whole topic: more, exactly the same, and less. What remains is learning to build each of the three.
Er or more: count the syllables
A short one-syllable word takes the ending er. A long word of three syllables or more takes more in front. The second thing is attached with than.
This bag is cheaper than that one.
The film was more interesting than the book.
Two-syllable words split. Those ending in y take er: happy gives happier. The rest usually take more: more modern, more useful.
The spelling sometimes shifts, and there are two habits here. A final y becomes i, and a short word with a single vowel doubles its last consonant.
easy → easier, happy → happier
big → bigger, hot → hotter
The superlative always takes the
The logic is the same, only est stands where er stood, and most where more stood. And the goes in front, because you are talking about the single one of its kind.
He is the tallest boy in the class.
This is the most useful app on my phone.
Next to it there is nearly always the boundary you are comparing inside: in the class, in town, of all.
It's the best coffee in town.
Four words you simply have to know
A handful of the most common adjectives obey no rule at all. There are only a few of them, and they come up every day.
| Word | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| good | better | the best |
| bad | worse | the worst |
| far | further | the furthest |
| many, much | more | the most |
There is no gooder and no baddest, however neatly the rules would seem to produce them.
As ... as: when they are equal
To say two things are equal in some quality, take the plain form of the adjective and pack it between two instances of as.
This room is as bright as that one.
She works as hard as her brother.
The negative of this structure means "less", and in real speech you hear it far more often than less itself.
The bus isn't as comfortable as the train.
The bus is less comfortable than the train.
The mistakes everyone makes
The first is building the comparison twice.
This is more cheaper. → This is cheaper.
The second is putting than after as.
as expensive than the other one → as expensive as the other one
The third is losing the article in the superlative.
She is best student in the group. → She is the best student in the group.
All three are caught by one look at the sentence. How many times is the comparison expressed in it? It should be exactly once, and in exactly one way.
Try it right now
Take two ordinary things: two cities, two routes to work, two apps on your phone.
Say three sentences about them in English: one with er or more, one with as ... as, and one in the superlative. If all three came easily, the topic is yours.