Comparatives and superlatives are used to compare people, places, or things.
Here we have three animals.
A dog, a horse and an elephant.
How can we compare these three animals?
Let's compare the dog and the elephant with the adjective FAST.
We say: A dog is faster than an elephant.
Faster is a comparative.
A comparative compares two things,
in this case a dog and an elephant.
Now let's compare the horse with the other two animals.
We say: The horse is the fastest
which means, the horse is the fastest of the three animals.
Fastest is a superlative.
A superlative compares one thing to all the others in the same group.
In this case, we are comparing the horse to the other animals in the group, which are the dog and elephant.
Now we need to learn how to make a comparative and superlative.
When an adjective has one syllable
such as fast or young,
we put ER at the end of the adjective to make it a comparative.
The adjective FAST has one syllable
so we just add ER to the end of it.
Faster
The adjective YOUNG has one syllable so we just add ER to the end of it.
Younger
Look at the example again.
A dog is faster than an elephant.
We say FASTER and not MORE FAST as you do in some other languages.
Also it is important to use THAN after the comparative.
Faster THAN... slower THAN... younger THAN
To make a superlative we add EST to the end of the adjective.
FAST becomes THE FASTEST
YOUNG becomes THE YOUNGEST
It is important to have the article THE before the superlative.
The horse is the fastest
Again, since the adjective has one syllable,
we do not say "the more fast"
no, we say THE FASTEST.
When an adjective has one syllable but ends in an E such as NICE or STRANGE,
we just add an R to the end of the adjective to make it a comparative.
The adjective nice becomes NICER,
the adjective strange becomes STRANGER.
And for a superlative, just add ST
so nice becomes THE NICEST.
Strange becomes THE STRANGEST
Look at these three monsters, Dean, Harry, and Frank.
Harry is nicer than Frank.
Yes, Frank looks like a grumpy monster.
But of the three monsters,
I think Dean is the nicest because he has a gift for you.
Of the three monsters, which is the strangest?
When an adjective has one syllable
and ends in a consonant plus a short vowel, plus a consonant
such as big and hot,
we double the last consonant and add ER for the comparative and
EST for the superlative
For example, BIG ends in a consonant B
a short vowel, I
and another consonant G
so we double, or make two of, the last consonant.
With the word BIG, the last consonant is G
so we need two Gs.
BIG becomes BIGGER with two Gs.
The superlative is BIGGEST also with two Gs.
Look at the weather on these three days:
Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
How can we compare these three days using the adjective hot?
Sunday was hot.
Monday was hotter than Sunday,
but Tuesday was the hottest day.
When an adjective has two syllables,
such as happy or crazy,
and the adjective also ends in the letter Y,
we remove the Y
and add IER for the comparative
So happy becomes HAPPIER.
For the superlative we also remove the Y and we add IEST.
So happy becomes THE HAPPIEST.
Crazy becomes crazier and the craziest.
Here are three children... Susan, Mary and Mike.
How can we compare these three children using the adjective happy?
Mary is happier than Susan.
Mike is the happiest.
When an adjective has two or more syllables,
we do not add ER or EST to the end of it.
The adjective FAMOUS has two syllables.
FA - MOUS.
So we cannot say "famouser" .... No, it doesn't exist.
For comparatives we use the word MORE before an adjective with two or more syllables.
So FAMOUS becomes MORE FAMOUS
For superlatives we use the words THE MOST before the adjective.
So famous becomes the most famous.
Expensive has three syllables... EX-PEN-SIVE
so expensive becomes MORE expensive
and THE MOST expensive.
Let's compare a bike, a car, and a plane as ways of traveling.
How can we compare them using the word EXPENSIVE?
A car is more expensive than a bike.
The plane is the most expensive way to travel of the three.
Of course there are always exceptions.
In English, two common exceptions are the adjectives GOOD and BAD.
With GOOD, the comparative form is BETTER
and for the superlative form, we say THE BEST.
For example,
You are a better singer than John.
Yes.
We do not say "more good" no.
We do not say "gooder" no. We say better.
With BAD the comparative is WORSE
and the superlative is THE WORST.
For example
It was the worst decision she had ever made.
We do not say "most bad" or "baddest" No.
We say THE WORST.
There are more exceptions such as FAR and LITTLE
but we will see these in another video.
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