47 Irregular Comparative and Superlative

Advertising

Introduction

Comparative are used to compare two things, people or actions while superlative express the superiority of one thing, person or action.

There are some adjectives and adverbs with irregular comparative and superlative.

Form

Irregular comparative and superlative do not follow the general formation rule, we have to learn them by heart. The most commonly used irregular comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs are:

Adjectives Adverbs Comparative Superlative
bad (adj.) badly (adv.) worse the worst
good (adj.) well (adv.) better the best
far far farther/further the farthest/furthest
little little less the least
much much more the most

Example

Comparative

  • Susan is a better assistant than her sister.
  • You have to go farther to get to the lawyer’s office.
  • Peter is going to talk to him later about the house.

Superlative

  • John is the best assistant in the office.
  • This is the furthest point I’ve ever reached in the agency!
  • They come to the garage the latest.

Use

We use irregular comparative and superlative in the same way as the regular ones.

Summary

With irregular adjectives/adverbs, the comparative and superlative forms cannot be created in the same way as the regular ones and they should be learned by heart.

The most commonly used are:

  • Bad (adj.) – badly (adv.) ⇒ worse (comp.) – the worst (super.);
  • Good (adj.) – well (adv.) ⇒ better (comp.) – the best (super.).

For example:
— Comparative: “You can write a good CV.” ⇒ “You can write a better CV.” / “You can write a gooder CV.
— Superlative: “You can write a good CV.” ⇒ “You can write the best CV.” / “You can write the goodest CV.

Let’s revise this content within the {Form} section. Take a look at the {Example} section that shows its use within a context.

Exercises


The exercises are not created yet. If you would like to get involve with their creation, be a contributor.



Ambassadors

Open TextBooks are collaborative projects, with people from all over the world bringing their skills and interests to join in the compilation and dissemination of knowledge to everyone and everywhere.

Become an Ambassador and write your textbooks.

Online Teaching

Become a Books4Languages Online tutor & teacher.

More information here about how to be a tutor.

Translations


Contributors

The Books4Languages is a collaborative projects, with people from all over the world bringing their skills and interests to join in the compilation and dissemination of knowledge to everyone, everywhere.

License