Comparative or Superlative?

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives — Comparatives: 2 things. Superlatives: 3+ things.

Comparative: To compare 2 things.

The boy is taller than the girl.
The girl is shorter than the boy.
The boy is older than the girl.
The girl has longer hair than the boy.

Click here to review comparative adjectives.

Superlative: To compare 3 or more things.

The brush on the left is the biggest.
The brush on the right is the smallest.

Click here to review superlative adjectives.

Now take the quiz to test your understanding of comparative and superlative adjectives:

Quiz: Comparative or Superlative?

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Choose the correct adjective to complete the sentence - comparative or superlative.

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Question 1

Running a marathon is ____________ than doing a triathlon.

A	least difficult
B	less difficult
C	not as difficult
D	the most difficult

Question 2

This job is pretty bad, but my last job was even __________.

A	badder
B	more bad
C	worst
D	worse

Question 2 Explanation:

"More bad" and "badder" do not exist

Question 3

February is ____________ month of the year.

A	the shortest
B	shorter
C	less short
D	the least short

Question 4

Which is _____________: gold or silver?

A	expensivest
B	more expensive
C	expensiver
D	as expensive

Question 4 Explanation:

Note: "expensiver" and "expensivest" don't exist.

Question 5

After he finished the test, he felt ____________.

A	most relaxed
B	more relaxed
C	relaxeder
D	least relaxed

Question 5 Explanation:

We are comparing two things - his feelings before the test and his feelings after the test. So "more relaxed" is correct. ("Relaxeder" does not exist)

Question 6

This is the city's ______________ bar.

A	popularest
B	most popular
C	less popular
D	more popular

Question 6 Explanation:

We are comparing this bar with all the other bars in the city - so we use the superlative. ("Popularest" does not exist)

Question 7

Yesterday was a slow day at my company, but today was ______________.

A	more busy
B	most busy
C	busier
D	busiest

Question 7 Explanation:

We are comparing two things - yesterday and today - so we use the comparative.

Question 8

What's __________ you've ever traveled?

A	farther than
B	the farthest
C	as far as
D	the most far

Question 9

I canceled my cell phone contract. I'm looking for a provider with __________ customer service.

A	better
B	as good as
C	best
D	more good

Question 9 Explanation:

We are comparing two things - my previous cell phone provider with my future cell phone provider - so we use the comparative, "better"

Question 10

Let's go to the restaurant across the street. It looks ______________ than this one.

A	less crowded
B	not crowded
C	uncrowded
D	least crowded

Question 10 Explanation:

We are comparing two things: this restaurant, and the restaurant across the street - so we use the comparative "less crowded"

Question 11

The scandal involving the President is ______________ issue in the news today.

A	as controversial as
B	the most controversial
C	more controversial
D	very controversial

Question 11 Explanation:

We are comparing this issue with all the other issues in the news today - so we use the superlative.

Question 12

What's _________ mountain in the world?

A	as high as
B	the highest
C	higher
D	the most high

Question 13

This is ___________ book I've ever read. It doesn't help at all.

A	the least useful
B	the more useful
C	the less useful
D	the most useful

Question 13 Explanation:

We are comparing this book with all the other books I have read in my life - so "the least useful" (superlative) is correct.

Question 14

Playing games on Facebook is not __________ use of your time.

A	the better
B	as good
C	the good
D	the best

Question 14 Explanation:

We are comparing one thing (playing games) with all the other possible ways to spend time, so we use the superlative, "the best"

Question 15

I'm ___________ man on the planet!

A	the luckiest
B	the more lucky
C	the most luckiest
D	luckier

Question 16

That book wasn't ____________ I thought it'd be.

A	the most interesting
B	much interesting
C	as interesting as
D	more interesting

Question 16 Explanation:

We are comparing two things - my idea about the book, and the reality of the book - so we use the comparative. Because it's a negative sentence ("wasn't") - we use "as interesting as"

Question 17

My wife is ________ than I am.

A	more patient
B	patienter
C	most patient
D	patientest

Question 17 Explanation:

Note: "patienter" and "patientest" do not exist.

Question 18

My son is getting __________ every year.

A	more tall
B	taller
C	the most tall
D	tallest

Question 18 Explanation:

We are comparing two things - how tall he was before and how tall he is after a year - so we use the comparative.

Question 19

The problems weren't ____________ I'd imagined.

A	more bad
B	as bad as
C	as worse as
D	the worst

Question 20

______________ thing I've ever had to do was to tell my daughter that her puppy had died.

A	The most hard
B	The worst hard
C	The more hard
D	The hardest

Question 20 Explanation:

We are comparing this situation with all other situations in life, so we use the superlative.

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Comparative or Superlative?

Click here to review comparative adjectives.

Superlative: To compare 3 or more things.

Click here to review superlative adjectives.

Quiz: Comparative or Superlative?

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