Equative, Comparative & Superlative Adjectives

Grammar Practice Worksheets

Equative, Comparative
& Superlative Adjectives

Copyright 2016, Red River Press Inc. For use by members of ESL Library in accordance with membership terms. 1
 Equative, Comparative & Superlative Adjectives
Grammar Practice Worksheets

Quick and Handy Grammar Review

DESCRIPTIVE, COMPARATIVE, SUPERLATIVE, AND EQUATIVE FORMS

Adjectives have four forms.

A. Descriptive Form

The descriptive form is used to • The excited travellers visited a beautiful park.
describe one noun or pronoun.
• The suntanned lifeguard protected the young swimmers.
Remember that adjectives are
placed either immediately before • The Australian woman was tall and slender.
the noun or after a form of the
• It is dangerous to climb a mountain in the winter.
verb to be.

B. Comparative Form

The comparative form is used to compare two nouns or pronouns.

For one-syllable adjectives, • Leyla is shorter than her sister.

add -er. For two-syllable adjectives • Claudia’s hair is curlier than her mother’s hair.
that end in y, change the y to i and
add -er: happy / happier.

For one-syllable adjectives that • Hawaii is hotter than Alaska.

end in consonant-vowel-consonant • I got wetter than you because I forgot my umbrella.
(CVC), double the consonant and
add -er: big / bigger.

For adjectives that end in • You are braver than me.

e, just add -r to form the • The sun is larger than the moon.
comparative: fine / finer.

For longer adjectives (two syllables • Helene is more optimistic than Nancy.
or more), use more + adjective. • His artwork is more beautiful than hers.

Adjectives are followed by

than in the comparative form.

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 Equative, Comparative & Superlative Adjectives
Grammar Practice Worksheets

Quick and Handy Grammar Review cont.

C. Superlative Form

The superlative form of the adjective is used

to compare at least three nouns or pronouns.

For one-syllable adjectives, add the • Ruta is the youngest engineer in the firm.
+ -est. For two-syllable adjectives • That pizza is the tastiest in town.
that end in y, change the y to i and
add -est: happy / happiest.

For longer adjectives • Giovanna is the most intelligent student in the class.
(more than two syllables), • Your recliner is the most comfortable seat in your house.
use the + most + adjective.

In the superlative form, adjectives

are often followed by in.

D. Equative and Non-Equative Form

The equative and non-equative • Martin is as fast as Juan.

form are used to express
• Jean-Claude is as capable as his father.
equality or inequality.
• Reba is not as tall as Angela.
For any length of adjective,
• Abu Dhabi is not as crowded as Seoul.
use as + adjective + as or
not as + adjective + as
to create this form.

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 Equative, Comparative & Superlative Adjectives
Grammar Practice Worksheets

Quick and Handy Grammar Review cont.

E. Irregular Forms

Good

Irregular Forms Examples

Descriptive good Daniel is a good swimmer.

Comparative better than Olga is a better dancer than Leila.

Superlative the best Sheila is the best singer in the choir.

Equative as good as He is as good as his brother in soccer.

Non-Equative not as good as The Nile Restaurant is not as good as the Four Seasons.

Bad

Irregular Forms Examples

Descriptive bad The weather last weekend was bad.

Comparative worse than The new quarterback is worse than the old one.

Superlative the worst That is the worst book I have ever read.

Equative as bad as The New York Rangers are as bad as the New Jersey Devils.

Non-Equative not as bad as These cookies are not as bad as that cake.

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 Equative, Comparative & Superlative Adjectives
Grammar Practice Worksheets

Quick and Handy Grammar Review cont.

E. Irregular Forms cont.

Many (used with count nouns)

Irregular Forms Examples

Descriptive many There are many beaches on the Riviera.

Comparative more than Istanbul has more mosquitoes than Baghdad.

Superlative the most Seattle has the most coffee shops in America.

Equative as many as New York has as many pizza places as Naples.

Non-Equative not as many as There are not as many chairs in Room 316 as in Room 321.

Much (used with non-count nouns)

Irregular Forms Examples

Descriptive much Henry doesn’t drink much tea.

Comparative more than Barbara drinks more coffee than Bruce.

Superlative the most Little Billy drinks the most milk in the family.

Equative as much as Yelma uses as much sugar as Marta.

Non-Equative not as much as I don’t use as much salt as I used to.

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 Equative, Comparative & Superlative Adjectives
Grammar Practice Worksheets

Quick and Handy Grammar Review cont.

E. Irregular Forms cont.

Few (used with count nouns)

Irregular Forms Examples

Descriptive few There are few people in that restaurant.

Comparative fewer than Xavier has fewer friends than Tanya.

Superlative the fewest Houston has the fewest Chinese restaurants of any southern city.

Equative as few as There are as few parks in Pompeii as in Herculanum.

Non-Equative not as few as There are not as few holes in the street as there used to be.

Little (used with non-count nouns)

Irregular Forms Examples

Descriptive little John drinks little beer.

Comparative less than Ashley eats less than her brother Seth.

Superlative the least Terrance drinks the least coffee in the office.

Equative as little as She uses as little sugar as she can.

Non-Equative not as little as Bob does not eat as little as he did five years ago.

Copyright 2016, Red River Press Inc. For use by members of ESL Library in accordance with membership terms. 6
 Equative, Comparative & Superlative Adjectives
Grammar Practice Worksheets

Copyright 2016, Red River Press Inc. For use by members of ESL Library in accordance with membership terms. 7
 Equative, Comparative & Superlative Adjectives
Grammar Practice Worksheets

Copyright 2016, Red River Press Inc. For use by members of ESL Library in accordance with membership terms. 8