COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES EXERCISE 1 (ESL)

Grammar review Comparative adjectives — formation rules

Comparative adjectives are used to compare two things. In English, how you form the comparative depends on the length and ending of the adjective.

Short adjectives (one syllable) — add -er:
cold → colder   fast → faster   slow → slower   dark → darker

Spelling rules for short adjectives:
Ends in -e: just add -r   nice → nicer   large → larger   brave → braver
One vowel + one consonant at the end: double that consonant   wet → wetter   flat → flatter
Ends in -y: change y to i, add -er   early → earlier   noisy → noisier

Long adjectives (two or more syllables) — use more:
beautiful → more beautiful   expensive → more expensive   interesting → more interesting

Irregular forms (just have to be memorized):
A small group of very common adjectives don't follow any of the rules above at all. You'll see at least two of them in this exercise.

Using comparatives in a sentence:
Always use than when making the comparison explicit:
“This road is much wider than the old one.”