Comparatives

At A2, the target group is most one-syllable adjectives: tall, short, fast, slow, cold, cheap. It also includes two-syllable adjectives ending in a consonant + y: happy, easy, busy, noisy.

Most other two-syllable adjectives and longer adjectives normally use more: more useful, more expensive. Some two-syllable adjectives allow both forms, such as cleverer and more clever. Good, bad and far have special forms that we learn separately.

For many short adjectives, simply add -er: tall → taller, cheap → cheaper, slow → slower. The base word remains unchanged.

If an adjective already ends in e, do not add another e: add only -r. Thus nice → nicer, safe → safer, large → larger.

In one-syllable words ending in one vowel letter + one final consonant letter, we generally double the consonant: big → bigger, hot → hotter, thin → thinner. Do not double a final w, x or y.

Do not apply this operation to every word ending in a consonant: clean → cleaner, cheap → cheaper, slow → slower. Start with reliable, common patterns and check an uncertain word in a dictionary.

When a two-syllable adjective ends in a consonant + y, change y to i before -er: happy → happier, easy → easier, busy → busier, noisy → noisier.

The combination happi-er is written happier. Do not write happyer, happyr or more happier; in this course, use the single form with a suffix.

When naming the second thing or person, we usually introduce it with than: The train is faster than the bus. A noun, pronoun or substitute one can follow: than me, than yours, than the blue one.

Than is not required after every comparative. If two options are already visible or have been mentioned: Which coat is cheaper? — The blue one is cheaper. A comparative can also precede a noun: We need a smaller box.

In an ordinary comparison, do not place more before a form that already ends in -er: smaller, not more smaller. For familiar short words, use taller, faster and cheaper.

Long adjectives and irregular forms follow other patterns: expensive → more expensive, good → better, bad → worse. Do not form these by mechanically adding -er.

Ask four questions: does the adjective belong to the target group; is the spelling change correct; which item actually has more of the quality; and is the comparison target clear?

You can express a comparison in different ways. Check the meaning as well as the spelling: which item has more of the quality, and what is it compared with?

For this rule, use common words such as interesting, expensive, difficult, dangerous, comfortable, important, convenient, reliable. They usually form the comparative with more. Careful, useful, peaceful, and powerful work the same way.

The number of syllables is a guideline, not an exception-free rule. Happy → happier, while some two-syllable adjectives allow both patterns: cleverer / more clever. Check a new word in a dictionary when necessary.

After more, use the base form of the adjective: more expensive, more careful, more reliable. Do not add -er, change the ending, or use another more.

After be, use more + adjective: The plan is more practical. The same group can follow seem, become, look, or feel, which link the subject to a characteristic.

Than introduces what we are comparing with: more useful than the old guide, more expensive than mine. After than, we can use a noun with dependent words, a pronoun, or a clause: more useful than I expected.

Than is not needed after every form with more. If two options have already been named or are visible, it is natural to ask Which option is more practical? and answer The online option is more practical.

In a yes/no question, be moves before the subject: Is this room more comfortable? To ask for specific information, add a question word: Which route is more convenient?

To make a negative, put not after be: The basic plan is not more expensive than the standard plan. This form denies that one option has more of the quality, but by itself it does not prove that the two options are equal.

More + adjective can come before a noun: a more reliable service. An article or another determiner, such as this, comes before the entire group.

In this construction, the than phrase is often unnecessary if the previous option is known: We need a more practical solution. It still has a comparative meaning, rather than being simply more about quantity.

Expensive → more expensive. Short adjectives often take -er: small → smaller. Good, bad, and far have the special forms better, worse, and farther/further.

Most + adjective forms the superlative: the most dangerous — the most dangerous. For a direct comparison with than in this pattern, use more: This route is more dangerous than that one.

Check the word, its form, and its meaning: does the adjective combine with more, has the base form been kept, and is it clear who has more of the quality and what it is being compared with?

Your own comparison may sound different from the example. What matters is that it expresses your meaning accurately.

In this lesson, we focus on three pairs: good → better, bad → worse, far → farther/further. This is not a complete list of all the special features of comparison in English.

The form comes after the linking verb (be) or another verb of state (feel, look, sound, taste, get), just like a regular comparative: subject + verb + better/worse/farther/further + (than + the second participant).

For an ordinary comparison of quality, use better and worse: This phone is better; the weather is worse. Do not form these words mechanically as gooder or badder.

More good or more bad are possible in other constructions, for example more good than bad—“more good than evil.” This is a different pattern, not an ordinary comparison of two things by quality.

For distance, use farther or further, not farer.

Better and worse already express the comparative degree. In a neutral standard comparison, more better and more worse are unnecessary; for emphasis, say much better or much worse.

Both words are comparative forms of far, and they are interchangeable for physical distance: The office is further from the station and The office is farther from the station are equally correct.

Further is also used to mean “additional”: further information—additional information. Farther is not used in this meaning. Could you explain this further? means “Could you explain this in more detail?”.

Practical tip: for physical distance, both forms are possible. For the meaning “additional”, use further: further information. There is no need to impose a broader ban on all figurative uses of farther.

Better, worse, farther, and further can appear without than when it is clear to the listener what the comparison is with.

I feel better—“I feel better”—often compares the present state with an earlier one. It is not necessary to say exactly what it is better than.

The comparative forms themselves do not change in questions or negative sentences. With be: Is it better? / It isn’t better. With feel in the Present Simple, do/does is needed: Does it feel better? / It doesn’t feel better.

A short answer repeats only the auxiliary verb, without repeating better/worse/farther/further: Is it worse today? — Yes, it is. / No, it isn't.

The ending -er and the word more are regular patterns for other adjectives: heavy → heavier, expensive → more expensive. Do not transfer them automatically to good, bad, or far.

Compare: This bag is heavier than that one (regular, -er, the word heavy) and This bag is better than that one (irregular, a separate word, good)—both sentences are correct, but they describe different qualities using different mechanisms.

These forms help you talk about how you feel, quality, weather, distance, and change. Choose the one that accurately expresses the quality you need.

The aim of this material is not only to recognize a form in someone else’s sentence, but also to use it freely by creating your own advice, complaints, praise, and accounts of real or imagined changes.

In neutral word order, more/less follows the verb. With a direct object (helps the team) or a verb particle (gives up), put more/less after that group rather than splitting it: helps the team more, gives up less. A following prepositional phrase can remain later, as in complains less about the schedule.

The same pattern applies to both words. More signals an increase and less a decrease, but their usual position is the same.

Than names what something is compared with. It can be followed by a noun (than money), an adverb (than before) or a clause (than she used to).

When the comparison point is understood, than is optional: I sleep more now. If you name it explicitly, introduce it: Kindness matters more than money.

Learners sometimes practise only more and overlook that less follows the same position pattern: after the verb, before than. There is no separate pattern for less.

Build pairs with the same verb and opposite directions to see that the position stays the same; only the word expressing the direction changes.

The same idea can often be expressed with a verb (he worries more) or an adjective after be (he is more worried). Both are grammatical and close in meaning, but use different constructions.

Problems arise when the two are mixed: using be for an action while treating verb worry as though it were an adjective produces is more worry. First decide whether the main meaning is carried by a verb or adjective, then place more/less accordingly.

More/less can directly precede a noun to express quantity (more time, less money). They then function as determiners modifying nouns rather than adverbs modifying verbs. This is a different grammatical role and pattern.

Compare sleeps more, which measures the action sleep, with needs more sleep, which measures noun sleep. The words look the same, but their positions and roles differ.

In a negative, auxiliary don’t/doesn’t/didn’t precedes the main verb as usual. More/less retains its usual position after the main verb, or after its direct object or particle if present.

In a question, put Do/Does/Did before the subject and use the verb’s base form after the subject: Does she sleep more? More/less keeps its normal position after the verb.

This is a natural way to discuss changes in habits, relationships, work or wellbeing. It is common in everyday conversation: I work more now; We argue less than we used to.

The aim is to describe a real or imagined change freely rather than reproduce a memorised example. Choose your own verb, topic (health, work or relationships) and way to establish the before-and-after comparison.