Short words take -er and -est. Longer words take more and most. A handful of everyday words ignore both rules and change shape completely, and those are the ones you hear all day.
1. Which One Is Cheaper?
Selin: Which one is cheaper?
Bart: The gray one, by twenty euros.
Selin: The black one looks stronger, though.
Bart: It's heavier, too. You carry it every day.
Selin: Then lighter beats stronger.
Bart: That's what I'd choose.
2. The Best One in Town
Ravi: Where's the best coffee in town?
Juno: The smallest place on Green Street.
Ravi: The one with four tables?
Juno: That's it. It's the busiest at eight.
Ravi: And the worst time to go is?
Juno: Any time it rains. Everyone hides in there.
3. As Big As Mine
Nadia: Your kitchen is as big as mine.
Elias: It isn't as bright as yours, though.
Nadia: The window is the same size.
Elias: Yours faces south. Mine doesn't.
Nadia: Then the room isn't the problem.
Elias: No, the direction is.
4. Better and Worse
Ken: Is the new phone better?
Marta: The camera is better. The battery is worse.
Ken: How much worse?
Marta: It lasts a day. The old one lasted two.
Ken: Then it's a downgrade with a nicer camera.
Marta: That's the fairest description I've heard.
5. More Expensive, More Reliable
Ola: The second-hand one is much more expensive than I expected.
Pim: It's also more reliable than the new brand.
Ola: Is it more comfortable?
Pim: It's more comfortable and more difficult to repair.
Ola: So I pay more now or more later.
Pim: That's the choice, roughly.
6. A Little or Much
Gian: Is your new place bigger?
Amal: A little bigger, and much quieter.
Gian: Is the rent much higher?
Amal: Slightly higher. It was a real bargain.
Gian: Then you found the tiny apartment that doesn't exist.
Amal: It exists. It just took nine months.
7. The Same As
Tess: My salary is the same as last year.
Omar: Mine's the same as yours, then.
Tess: Everything else costs more.
Omar: The bus is twenty percent more expensive than in January.
Tess: So we earn the same and keep less.
Omar: That's the most honest sentence today.
8. Worth the Upgrade
Hana: Is the upgrade worth it?
Nate: It's faster, but not twice as fast.
Hana: Is it worth double the price?
Nate: For me it isn't. For you it might be.
Hana: You use it more than I do.
Nate: I use it more and I complain more. Both are true.
Words to know
| downgrade | a change to a worse or less powerful version Then it's a downgrade with a nicer camera. |
| second-hand | already owned and used by somebody else The second-hand one is much more expensive than I expected. |
| reliable | working properly again and again, so you can trust it It's also more reliable than the new brand. |
| bargain | something you buy for much less than it is worth Slightly higher. It was a real bargain. |
| tiny | extremely small Then you found the tiny apartment that doesn't exist. |
| roughly | approximately, not exactly That's the choice, roughly. |
| upgrade | a newer or better version of what you already have Is the upgrade worth it? |
| worth it | good enough to justify the money, time or effort Is it worth double the price? |
Quick practice
Complete each sentence with the comparative or superlative used in the conversations above.
1. Which one is ____? (cheap)
_______________________________________
2. Where's the ____ coffee in town? (good)
_______________________________________
3. Your kitchen is ____ big ____ mine.
_______________________________________
4. The camera is better. The battery is ____. (bad)
_______________________________________
5. It's ____ than the new brand. (reliable)
_______________________________________
6. My salary is ____ last year. (identical)
_______________________________________
Show the answers
1. Which one is cheaper? 2. Where's the best coffee in town? 3. Your kitchen is as big as mine. 4. The battery is worse. 5. It's more reliable than the new brand. 6. My salary is the same as last year.
Common mistakes
Not: My bag is bigger that yours.
Say: My bag is bigger than yours.
Than is the word for comparing. That belongs to a different job altogether, and the two sound almost the same.
Not: He's the most tallest in the class.
Say: He's the tallest in the class.
Use -est or most, never both in the same phrase.
Not: My phone is same as yours.
Say: My phone is the same as yours.
The phrase is fixed: the same as. The the never disappears.
Your turn
Compare things you can actually see. Comparatives stick when the two objects are in front of you.
- Compare two things in the room with -er: bigger, older, heavier, cleaner.
- Compare two longer adjectives with more: more expensive, more comfortable, more useful.
- Say what is the best, the worst and the busiest place in your town.
- Compare two things that are equal, using as ... as and the same as.
- Argue for two minutes about whether a phone upgrade is worth it, using at least five comparatives.
Quick review
Short adjectives add -er and -est, and a final consonant often doubles: big, bigger, biggest. Longer adjectives take more and most. Good, bad and far change completely: better and best, worse and worst, further and furthest. Use than after a comparative, the in front of a superlative, and as ... as or the same as when two things match.