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Lesson Forty-Seven:
Comparative vs Superlative Adjectives
In today’s English lesson, we’ll talk about comparative and superlative adjectives. Basically, we will be discussing how to make adjectives stronger or weaker.
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In this lesson, we will talk about comparative and superlative adjectives. Basically, we will be discussing how to make adjectives stronger or weaker.
Positive Forms of Adjectives
First let’s start with basic forms of adjectives. These are the adjectives that you are probably most familiar with. Every adjective has a basic form, or positive form. Positive forms of adjectives are used to describe people, places, things, and ideas.
Examples of positive adjectives are “blue”, “tall”, or “cold”. In the sentence “Julio is brilliant,” what would be the adjective? It would be “brilliant”.
Examples: great, pink, bright, fun, straight, bearable, rainy
Comparative Adjectives
Comparative adjectives are weaker or stronger forms of basic adjectives. They are also used when you want to compare two things.
Example: Nathan is taller than Joanna.
For comparative adjectives, add an –er (or some form of it) to the end of the adjective, or add the word “more” or “less” before the adjective. Adding a “more/less” before, or an “-er” after, depends on the adjective type. One classic example of this is the adjective “fun”. We should never say “funner”. We should say “more fun”. We will look at all of the comparative/superlative rules a little later in this lesson.
Comparative Adjectives with –er: greater, pinker, brighter, straighter
Comparative Adjectives using “more” or “less”: more brilliant, more bearable, less awful, less stable
Superlative Adjectives
Superlative adjectives are used to show the most extreme version of an adjective. They are also used when comparing three or more things. Superlatives are the strongest or weakest that an adjective can be.
Example: Nathan is the tallest person in his family.
For superlative adjectives, add an –est (or some form of it) to the end of the adjective, or add the word “most” or “least” before the adjective. Adding a “most/least” before, or an “-est” after, depends on the adjective type.
Superlative Adjectives with –est: greatest, pinkest, brightest, straightest
Superlative Adjectives with “most” or “least”: most brilliant, most bearable, least awful, least stable
Rules for Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
Rule #1 – For most one-syllable adjectives, add –er to make it comparative, and –est to make it superlative.
Example: green – greener – greenest
Rule #2 – For a one-syllable adjective that word ends in –e, only add –r to the end of the word for a comparative and –st for a superlative.
Example: white – whiter – whitest
Rule #3 – For a one-syllable adjective that ends in a single consonant and a vowel comes before it, double the consonant, and add an –er for a comparative and an –est for a superlative.
Example: red – redder – reddest
Rule #4 – For most two-syllable adjectives, ‘more’ is used for the comparative form, and ‘most’ is used for the superlative form.
Example: purple – more purple – most purple
Rule #5 – For two-syllable adjectives that end in ‘y’, change ‘y’ to an ‘i’, and then add –er for a comparative and –est for a superlative.
Example: happy – happier – happiest
Rule #6 – For two-syllable adjectives that end in –er, -ow, or –le, add –er or –r for a comparative, and –est or –st for a superlative.
Example: yellow – yellower – yellowest
Rule #7 – For adjectives of three or more syllables, use ‘more’ for comparatives, and ‘most’ for superlatives.
Example: important – more important – most important
Rule #8 – Some adjectives don’t follow any of the above rules, because they are irregular adjectives.
Examples: good – better – best AND quiet – quieter – quietest
Comment below with your favorite adjective if you found this lesson helpful. If you enjoyed this lesson, I think you would enjoy my Clear English Pronunciation course.
Until next time, Happy learning!
Andrea
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The following is a TOEFL Reading practice test to help you prepare for the Reading section of the TOEFL test.
Instructions: Read the sample passage below and then answer the questions that follow.
TOEFL Reading Practice Passage
Gorillas are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forest of central Sub-Saharan Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: the eastern gorillas and the western gorillas (both critically endangered), and either four or five subspecies. They are the largest living primates. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after the chimpanzees and bonobos.
Gorillas' natural habitats cover tropical or subtropical forest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although their range covers a small percentage of Sub-Saharan Africa, gorillas cover a wide range of elevations. The mountain gorilla inhabits the Albertine Rift montane cloud forests of the Virunga Volcanoes, ranging in altitude from 2,200 to 4,300 metres (7,200 to 14,100 ft). Lowland gorillas live in dense forests and lowland swamps and marshes as low as sea level, with western lowland gorillas living in Central West African countries and eastern lowland gorillas living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo near its border with Rwanda.
(#1) Gorillas move around by knuckle-walking, although they sometimes walk upright for short distances, typically while carrying food or in defensive situations. (#2) A 2018 study investigating the hand posture of 77 mountain gorillas at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (8% of the population) found that knuckle walking was done only 60% of the time, and they also supported their weight on their fists, the backs of their hands/feet, and on their palms/soles (with the digits flexed). (#3) Studies of gorilla handedness have yielded varying results, with some arguing for no preference for either hand, and others right-hand dominance for the general population. (#4)
The eastern gorilla is more darkly colored than the western gorilla, with the mountain gorilla being the darkest of all. The mountain gorilla also has the thickest hair. The western lowland gorilla can be brown or grayish with a reddish forehead. In addition, gorillas that live in lowland forest are more slender and agile than the more bulky mountain gorillas. The eastern gorilla also has a longer face and broader chest than the western gorilla. Like humans, gorillas have individual fingerprints. Their eye color is dark brown, framed by a black ring around the iris. Gorilla facial structure is described as mandibular prognathism, that is, the mandible protrudes farther out than the maxilla. Adult males also have a prominent sagittal crest.
A gorilla's lifespan is normally between 35 and 40 years, although zoo gorillas may live for 50 years or more. Colo, a female western gorilla at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, was the oldest known gorilla at 60 years of age when she died on 17 January 2017.
Questions
1. According to the passage, gorillas can live in
a. a variety of altitudes.
b. several different countries in Africa.
c. thick forests.
d. lowland forests only.
2. All of the following is true about gorillas EXCEPT
a. they primarily eat smaller animals.
b. they live in a forest habitat.
c. their genetics are similar to humans.
d. their diet consists of vegetation.
3. Look at the word predominantly in paragraph 1. The word predominantly in this passage refers to
a. impulsively
b. unfortunately
c. mainly
d. lastly
4. Look at the word inhabits in paragraph 2. The word inhabits in this passage refers to
a. lives in
b. protects
c. goes
d. works
5. The author implies that
a. most gorillas prefer using their left hand over their right.
b. gorillas rarely walk on their knuckles.
c. gorillas regularly walk upright for long distances.
d. studies haven't solidly proven which hand gorillas prefer using.
6. Why does the writer mention that the eastern gorilla also has a longer face and broader chest than the western gorilla?
a. To validate the importance a broad chest in western gorillas
b. To define the meaning of "broad"
c. To highlight a physical difference between types of gorillas
d. To demonstrate that most gorillas are identical in physical build
7. Which of the following statements is true for BOTH eastern and western gorillas.
a. Both eastern and western gorrilas are brown with red foreheads.
b. Both eastern and western gorrilas have unique fingerprints.
c. Both eastern and western gorrilas have thin hair.
d. Both eastern and western gorrilas have light brown eyes.
8. In Paragraph 3, look at the four numbers (#1, #2, #3, #4) that indicate where the following sentence would be added to the passage.
Such a range of hand postures was previously thought to have been used by only orangutans.
Where would the sentence best fit?
(View all the correct answers below.)
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Answers: 1. d 2. a 3. c 4. a 5. d 6. c 7. b 8. #3
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About Andrea
Andrea Giordano is the founder of StudyWithAndrea.com and has taught more than 1,000,000 students from 180 countries. Andrea holds a Master of Education (TESOL) from Shenandoah University, and is the former Executive Director of TESOL and ESL programs at Campbellsville University. Andrea is a proven leader in online English teaching and is driven by her passion to help you speak English clearly.
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