A Structure and Sample Paragraph
We use comparatives to compare two people, places, things, or ideas. Comparatives help us describe differences by showing that one person or thing has more or less of a quality than another.
More + Long Adjective + than
My new apartment is larger than my old one. It is also more comfortable, so I feel happier living there every day.
Tip: Comparatives always compare two people, places, things, or ideas. Most comparative sentences use the word than.
Ask yourself:
Which one has more of this quality?
✓ My car is faster than yours.
✓ This book is more interesting than that one.
✓ Winter is colder than spring.
✗ My car is fast than yours.
✗ This book is interesting than that one.
✗ Winter is more cold than spring.
B Short Adjectives (-er)
For most short adjectives (one syllable and some two-syllable adjectives), we add -er to make the comparative form. Comparative adjectives are usually followed by than when we compare two people, places, or things.
| Adjective | Comparative |
|---|---|
| small | smaller |
| tall | taller |
| fast | faster |
| old | older |
| easy | easier |
| happy | happier |
- My brother is taller than I am.
- This bag is lighter than my old one.
- Today is warmer than yesterday.
- The blue car is faster than the red car.
- This exercise is easier than the last one.
Tip: Most short adjectives add -er to make the comparative.
There are two common spelling rules:
1. If an adjective ends in -y, change y → i before adding -er.
happy → happier
easy → easier
2. If an adjective ends with one vowel + one consonant, double the final consonant.
big → bigger
hot → hotter
✓ This room is smaller than mine.
✓ She is happier now.
✓ Summer is hotter than spring.
✗ This room is more small than mine.
✗ She is more happy now.
✗ Summer is hoter than spring.
C Long Adjectives (More + Adjective)
For most long adjectives (two or more syllables), we use more before the adjective to make the comparative. Unlike short adjectives, we do not add -er. Comparative sentences usually end with than when comparing two people, places, things, or ideas.
| Adjective | Comparative |
|---|---|
| beautiful | more beautiful |
| comfortable | more comfortable |
| interesting | more interesting |
| important | more important |
| expensive | more expensive |
| careful | more careful |
- This restaurant is more expensive than the one downtown.
- Today's lesson is more interesting than yesterday's.
- My new chair is more comfortable than my old one.
- Good communication is more important than speed.
- She is more careful than her brother.
Tip: Most long adjectives use more, not -er.
Remember this pattern:
More + Adjective + than
✓ This course is more interesting than the last one.
✓ The blue sofa is more comfortable than the black one.
✓ Health is more important than money.
✗ This course is interestinger than the last one.
✗ The blue sofa is comfortabler than the black one.
✗ Health is importanter than money.
If an adjective has two or more syllables, using more is usually the correct choice.
D Irregular Comparatives
Some adjectives do not follow the normal comparative rules. Instead of adding -er or using more, they change to a completely different word. These are called irregular comparatives, and they must be memorized because they do not follow a pattern.
| Adjective | Comparative |
|---|---|
| good | better |
| bad | worse |
| far | farther / further |
| little | less |
| many / much | more |
- This restaurant is better than the one we visited last week.
- Today's weather is worse than yesterday's.
- My office is farther from home than yours.
- This assignment requires less time than the previous one.
- She has more experience than I do.
Tip: Irregular comparatives do not follow the normal rules. Do not add -er or use more with these adjectives. Simply memorize their comparative forms.
✓ This solution is better than the old one.
✓ His performance was worse than last month's.
✓ The second route is farther than the first.
✗ This solution is gooder than the old one.
✗ His performance was more bad than last month's.
✗ The second route is more far than the first.
The irregular comparatives better, worse, farther / further, less, and more are among the most common comparison words in English.
E Be + Comparative + Than
One of the most common ways to compare two people, places, things, or ideas is with the verb be followed by a comparative adjective and the word than. This pattern is used to compare size, age, quality, price, speed, and many other characteristics.
- My apartment is larger than yours.
- This book is more interesting than that one.
- The blue car is faster than the red car.
- Today's weather is better than yesterday's.
- This computer is more expensive than my old one.
- Her presentation was more organized than mine.
- Canada is larger than Japan.
- Coffee is more popular than tea in some countries.
- This route is shorter than the highway.
- Her explanation was clearer than mine.
- The new schedule is more convenient than the old one.
Tip: This is the most common comparative pattern in English. Use it whenever you compare two people, places, things, or ideas.
Remember the pattern:
Subject + Be + Comparative + than
✓ This hotel is cleaner than that one.
✓ Her answer was better than mine.
✓ The exam is more difficult than last year's.
✗ This hotel is clean than that one.
✗ Her answer was good than mine.
✗ The exam is difficult than last year's.
If you are using the verb be, remember that the adjective must be in its comparative form before than.
F Verb + Comparative Adjective + Than
Comparatives are not only used with the verb be. Many other verbs can also be followed by a comparative adjective and the word than. This structure is common when talking about change, feelings, appearance, performance, and everyday experiences.
- become
- feel
- look
- seem
- sound
- grow
- get
- I feel better than I did yesterday.
- She looks younger than her sister.
- The weather became colder than we expected.
- This idea sounds more reasonable than the first one.
- The situation seems worse than before.
- Our garden looks greener than last year.
- Students feel more confident than they did last semester.
- The new phone looks better than the old model.
- Traffic became heavier than usual during the storm.
- The instructions sound clearer than before.
- The children grew taller than their cousins.
Tip: Many verbs can be followed by a comparative adjective when you are comparing two people, places, or things.
Remember this pattern:
Subject + Verb + Comparative + than
✓ She feels better than yesterday.
✓ This solution sounds more practical than the first one.
✓ The sky looks darker than this morning.
✗ She feels good than yesterday.
✗ This solution sounds practical than the first one.
✗ The sky looks dark than this morning.
Whenever you compare after a verb, make sure the adjective is in its comparative form before than.
G Verb + More/Less + Noun + Than
Sometimes we compare amounts, quantities, or numbers instead of adjectives. In these cases, we use more or less before a noun, followed by than. This pattern is common when talking about money, time, experience, traffic, work, and resources.
- She has more experience than I do.
- We spent less money than last month.
- The company hired more employees than last year.
- I have less free time than before.
- This city receives more tourists than our hometown.
- They completed the project with less effort than expected.
- money
- time
- experience
- traffic
- work
- energy
- information
- practice
Tip: Use more or less when you compare nouns, not adjectives.
Remember this pattern:
Verb + More/Less + Noun + than
✓ She has more experience than I do.
✓ We need less time than before.
✓ The school received more funding than last year.
✗ She has experienced than I do.
✗ We need less faster than before.
✗ The school received more successful than last year.
Ask yourself one question: "Am I comparing a noun or an adjective?"
If you are comparing a noun, use more/less + noun + than. If you are comparing an adjective, use a comparative adjective + than.
H Key Points to Remember
Comparatives help you compare two people, places, things, or ideas. They allow you to describe differences in size, quality, amount, age, speed, and many other characteristics. Choosing the correct comparative pattern will make your English more accurate, more natural, and easier to understand.
Short Adjective + -er + than
More + Long Adjective + than
Irregular Comparatives
Verb + More/Less + Noun + than
- Most short adjectives form comparatives by adding -er.
- Most long adjectives use more before the adjective.
- Some adjectives are irregular, such as good → better and bad → worse.
- After be and many linking verbs, use the comparative adjective before than.
- When comparing amounts or quantities, use more/less + noun + than.
- My car is faster than yours.
- This lesson is more interesting than the last one.
- Today's weather is better than yesterday's.
- She feels stronger than she did last month.
- The company has more employees than it had last year.
- This project requires less time than the previous one.
Final Tip: Before using a comparative, ask yourself these questions:
1. Is the adjective short or long? Use -er for most short adjectives and more for most long adjectives.
2. Is the adjective irregular? Remember common forms such as better, worse, farther/further, more, and less.
3. Am I comparing a quality or a quantity? Use a comparative adjective to compare qualities. Use more/less + noun to compare amounts.
4. Am I comparing two things? Most comparative sentences use the word than.
The more you practice using comparatives correctly, the more natural, confident, and effective your English will become.