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    Spelling Rules Comparative and Superlative

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    TatianaGraur
    This document provides rules for forming comparative and superlative adjectives in English. It discusses forming comparatives and superlatives for one-syllable adjectives, adjectives ending in -y or -le, irregular adjectives like "good" and "bad", and all other adjectives which take "more" and "most". It also notes pronunciation changes like inserting a "g" sound between the adjective and suffix for words ending in "ng".

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    Spelling Rules Comparative and Superlative

    Uploaded by

    TatianaGraur
    279 views2 pages
    This document provides rules for forming comparative and superlative adjectives in English. It discusses forming comparatives and superlatives for one-syllable adjectives, adjectives ending in -y or -le, irregular adjectives like "good" and "bad", and all other adjectives which take "more" and "most". It also notes pronunciation changes like inserting a "g" sound between the adjective and suffix for words ending in "ng".

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    Spelling rules comparative and superlative

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    This document provides rules for forming comparative and superlative adjectives in English. It discusses forming comparatives and superlatives for one-syllable adjectives, adjectives ending in -y or -le, irregular adjectives like "good" and "bad", and all other adjectives which take "more" and "most". It also notes pronunciation changes like inserting a "g" sound between the adjective and suffix for words ending in "ng".

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    279 views2 pages

    Spelling Rules Comparative and Superlative

    Uploaded by

    TatianaGraur
    This document provides rules for forming comparative and superlative adjectives in English. It discusses forming comparatives and superlatives for one-syllable adjectives, adjectives ending in -y or -le, irregular adjectives like "good" and "bad", and all other adjectives which take "more" and "most". It also notes pronunciation changes like inserting a "g" sound between the adjective and suffix for words ending in "ng".

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    Forming Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

    Reference Sheet

    Single Syllable Adjectives -y, -le, and -er Adjectives

    For one-syllable adjectives spelled with a For two-syllable adjectives spelled with a
    final consonant preceded by either two final y preceded by a consonant, change the
    vowels or additional consonants, simply y to an i and then add the -er or -est suffix.
    add the -er or -est suffix. For example: For example:

    cold – colder – coldest burly – burlier – burliest


    deep – deeper – deepest dirty – dirtier – dirtiest
    fast – faster – fastest sassy – sassier – sassiest
    lean – leaner – leanest ugly – uglier – ugliest

    For one-syllable adjectives spelled with a For two-syllable adjectives spelled with a
    final consonant preceded by a single vowel, final le, remove the e and then add the -er
    double the final consonant and add the -er or -est suffix. For example:
    or -est suffix. For example:
    gentle – gentler – gentlest
    big – bigger – biggest humble – humbler – humblest
    fat – fatter – fattest little – littler – littlest
    hot – hotter – hottest simple – simpler – simplest
    sad – sadder – saddest
    For two-syllable adjectives spelled with a
    For one-syllable adjectives spelled with a final er, simply add the -er or -est suffix.
    final e preceded by a consonant, remove For example:
    the e and then add the -er or -est suffix. For
    example: bitter – bitterer – bitterest
    eager – eagerer - eagerest
    cute – cuter – cutest somber – somberer – somberest
    fine – finer – finest tender – tenderer – tenderest
    nice – nicer – nicest
    wide – wider – widest Note, however, that the comparative and
    superlative forms of -le and -er adjectives
    are in the process of linguistic change with
    the addition of both -er/-est suffixes and
    more/most adverbs producing
    grammatically acceptable forms. For
    example, native English speakers use both
    humbler and more humble and both
    tenderest and most tender.
    Irregular Adjectives

    Some English adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms. For example:

    bad – worse – worst


    far – further – furthest
    good – better – best
    many – more – most
    old – elder – eldest
    well – better – best

    Note that the superlative form of irregular adjectives in English almost always appears
    with the determiner the as in She is my elder sister but He is the eldest sibling.

    Other Adjectives

    All other adjectives in English require the adverbs more and most in the comparative and
    superlative forms. For example:

    comfortable – more comfortable – most comfortable


    kindhearted – more kindhearted – most kindhearted
    romantic – more romantic – most romantic
    zealous – more zealous – most zealous

    The adverbs more and most function as adjective phrase modifiers within the adjective
    phrases of comparative and superlative adjectives.

    Pronunciation Changes

    The pronunciation of the positive form of English adjectives does not change in the
    comparative and superlative forms. For example:

    bright [braiyt] – brighter [braiytər] – brightest [braiytɛst]


    damp [dӕmp] – damper [dӕmpər] – dampest [dӕmpɛst]
    jolly [ĵali] – jollier [ĵaliər] – jolliest [ĵaliɛst]

    However, for adjectives pronounced with a final ng [ŋ], insert a g [g] sound between the
    positive form of the adjective and the comparative or superlative suffix. For example:

    long [laŋ] – longer [laŋgər] – longest [laŋgɛst]


    strong [straŋ] – stronger [straŋgər] – strongest [straŋgɛst]
    young [yəŋ] – youngest – [yəŋgər] – youngest [yəŋgɛst]

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