Review: Comparatives & Superlatives
Master comparisons in English: as...as, less...than, and important irregular forms.
- check_circleI can compare people and things using 'as...as' and 'less...than'.
- check_circleI can use irregular comparative and superlative forms correctly.
Discover
Meet today's English in a real situation — no rules yet. Read it once and try to guess the pattern in the words in bold. Underlined words open a short definition.
The Best Vacation
Tom and Sarah are talking about their recent trips.
Tom: How was your trip to London, Sarah?
Sarah: It was amazing! It’s one of the best cities I’ve ever visited. But it’s also very expensive.
Tom: Is it more expensive than New York?
Sarah: Yes, I think so. But the public transport is better. The Tube is definitely as fast as the New York subway, and it feels less complicated.
Tom: I went to the countryside last weekend. It wasn’t as exciting as London, but the weather was better.
Sarah: Well, the weather in London was worse than I expected. It rained almost every day! Next time, I want to travel somewhere further away, maybe to Asia. It’s the furthest I’ve ever thought about traveling!
Learn
Now the rules behind what you just saw — explained simply, with examples. Underlined words open a short definition — hover on desktop, tap on a phone.
Review: Comparatives & Superlatives
Equality: as … as
When two things are equal in some way, we use as + adjective/adverb + as.
My new phone is as fast as my old one.
When they are not equal, we use not as … as. This is often more natural than using a comparative form.
The movie wasn’t as good as the book. (Meaning: The book was better than the movie.)
Inferiority: less … than
To say something has a lower degree of a quality, we use less + adjective/adverb + than. We use this mostly with longer words.
This exercise is less complicated than the last one.
For short adjectives, we usually prefer not as … as. It’s more natural to say “He is not as tall as me” rather than “He is less tall than me”.
Irregular Forms
Some common adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms. You must memorize these!
| Adjective | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| good | better (than) | the best |
| bad | worse (than) | the worst |
| far | further / farther (than) | the furthest / the farthest |
- This is the best coffee I’ve ever had!
- The weather today is worse than yesterday.
- The museum is further than I thought.
Common mistake: Don’t add “-er” or “more” to irregular forms!
This is more better. -> This is better.
That was the baddest movie. -> That was the worst movie.
- Equality: as + adjective + as (as big as)
- Inequality: not as + adjective + as (not as good as)
- Inferiority: less + long adjective + than (less expensive than)
- Irregular: good ➔ better ➔ best
- Irregular: bad ➔ worse ➔ worst
- Irregular: far ➔ further ➔ furthest
Practice
Try it yourself. You'll see right away whether you got it right, plus a short explanation of why.
Use It
Now make the language yours in a real task. Use the prompt below — the editor keeps a simple word count, and nothing is saved or graded.
Before you finish — be honest. Can you do these now?