Comparative adjectives

Comparative adjectives

Do you know how to use comparative adjectives like older, better and more interesting? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Look at these examples to see how we use comparative adjectives.

The city is more interesting than the countryside.
This house is older than my house.
She's better at cooking now than before.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

We use comparative adjectives to compare two things or show change. The comparative form depends on the number of syllables in the adjective.

Adjectives with one syllable

To make comparative forms with one-syllable adjectives, we usually add -er:

old → older
clean → cleaner
slow → slower

If an adjective ends in -e, we add -r:

safe → safer
nice → nicer

If an adjective ends in a vowel and a consonant, we usually double the consonant:

big → bigger
hot → hotter

Adjectives with two or more syllables

If a two-syllable adjective ends in a consonant and -y, we change -y to -i and add -er:

noisy → noisier
happy → happier
easy → easier

We use more to make comparative forms for most other two-syllable adjectives and for all adjectives with three or more syllables:

crowded → more crowded
stressful → more stressful
dangerous → more dangerous

Exception: You can either add -er/-r or use more with some two-syllable adjectives, such as common, cruel, gentle, handsome, likely, narrow, pleasant, polite, simple and stupid.

I think life in the countryside is simpler than in the city.
It's more simple to live in the city because everything you need is there.

Irregular adjectives

The adjectives good, bad and far have irregular comparative forms:

good → better
bad → worse
far → further/farther

Than

When we want to say which person or thing we are comparing with, we can use than:

Their house is cleaner than ours.
Traffic is slower in the city than in the countryside.
After the race I was more tired than Anne.

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Average: 4.1 (240 votes)

Submitted by Emrys_k on Tue, 25/11/2025 - 10:52

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Adjective lesson is easy for me. Thank u so much.

Submitted by syarifah77 on Thu, 02/10/2025 - 04:55

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i think this lesson is easier than i thought. Usually this lesson also include superlative like simplest,best, worst, furthest, farthest, latest, least, etc. But thanks for the materials

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Submitted by MounirBr44 on Thu, 31/07/2025 - 22:28

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I respect people mainly if they're older than me, but some of them can be quite noisy. When they go beyond the limits of what can be tolerated, they become more unpleasant. In such cases, the best solution is to avoid meeting them. But truly, the most beautiful people are simply unforgettable.

Submitted by Mohamed101 on Thu, 31/07/2025 - 10:13

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I now understand this lesson much better than I did before.

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Submitted by Nelia16 on Wed, 30/07/2025 - 14:36

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I like to live in a city because is more comfortable and cleaner. I want to study abroad more than study in my hometown because it is cleaner and education is better. And I will have more opportunities in the future.

Submitted by moaz_shamekh on Wed, 23/07/2025 - 22:10

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I want to live in the countryside because life there is easier and quieter, but on the other hand it is farther from the city from social life and important facilities such as the hospital, police offices and ambulances.
 

Submitted by MagnoXXI on Wed, 09/07/2025 - 00:27

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I did not know that some adjectives in two syllables were interchangeable between ´more´ and (er/r) end.

This website is excellent explaining.

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Submitted by Joy1010 on Thu, 01/05/2025 - 18:16

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Just like this sentence 👇

I think life in the countryside is simpler than in the city.

It's more simple to live in the city because everything you need is there.

Is it right to say

She is more taller than you

Should it have been she is more tall than you. 

 

 

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