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Is a jalapeño hotter than a habanero? Comparative adjectives with -er and than

This A2 ESL lesson plan teaches comparative adjectives with -er and than by comparing peppers, from sweet bell peppers to very hot habaneros.

Grammar
Short adjectives + -er + than (A habanero is hotter than a jalapeño.), spelling rules (milder, hotter, spicier), much for a big difference, and questions such as Which is hotter?
Topic
Chile peppers and the Scoville scale of pepper heat, on a chile farm in Hatch, New Mexico, with taste adjectives and words such as mild, burn, salsa and ristra.
Activities
A farm stand poster to read, a pepper tasting and Grandpa's challenge to hear, self-checking drills, a quiz chat and open-the-box prompts to compare things.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Welcome to chile country!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: hot peppersVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: how hot is it?

    • Look at the photo: three peppersPictureUnlock
    • Read the farm stand posterReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: my mouth is on fire!

    • Listen to Marco and DeliaListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to Grandpa's challengeListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: hotter than

    • Study the scheme: hotter thanGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the right wordChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: compare the peppersFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: the comparativeFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the right sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: red or green?

    • Choose the right replies: Nora's pepper quizChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: compare!Open the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the words: at the chile farmAnagramUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
    • Sort the words into the correct columns: how to make the comparativeSort into columnsUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: compare two thingsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the right orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the right answer: questions and answersQuizUnlock
    • Read Marco's post and choose the right wordsChoose the optionUnlock

29 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • chile
  • jalapeño
  • habanero
  • bell pepper
  • salsa
  • ristra
  • roaster

Grammar: comparatives of short adjectives

To compare two things, a short adjective takes -er and the second thing follows than: A habanero is hotter than a jalapeño. With three peppers and a heat scale, learners make comparative adjectives with -er, follow four spelling rules, ask Which is hotter? and use much for a big difference. Long adjectives such as delicious wait for a later lesson.

Hotter, milder, spicier: compare two things

Short adjectives + -er + than. Long adjectives (like delicious) come later.

Adjective + -er + than

The pattern has three parts: the first thing with is or are, the adjective + -er, then than and the second thing. Bell peppers are sweeter than jalapeños. The word that links the two is than, never as or that.

thing 1 + is / areadjective + -erthan + thing 2

A habanero is hotter than a jalapeño.

Bell peppers are sweeter than jalapeños.

Four spelling rules

Most short adjectives just add -er: milder, sweeter, colder. A final e takes only -r (nicer, safer); one vowel + one consonant doubles the consonant (hotter, bigger, sadder); and y becomes -ier: spicier, easier, busier.

AdjectiveRuleComparative
mild, sweet, cold+ ermilder, sweeter, colder
nice, safeends in e: + rnicer, safer
hot, big, sadends in one vowel + one consonant (h-o-t): double the last letter + erhotter, bigger, sadder
spicy, easy, busyends in y: y → ierspicier, easier, busier

Which is hotter? Questions and answers

Which is hotter, a jalapeño or a habanero? offers two choices joined by or. A yes/no question puts is or are first, and the short answer repeats it: Is a jalapeño hotter than a habanero? No, it isn't. It's milder.

QuestionAnswer
Which is hotter, a jalapeño or a habanero?A habanero (is hotter).
Is a jalapeño hotter than a habanero?No, it isn't. It's milder.
Are habaneros hotter than bell peppers?Yes, they are. They're much hotter.

Much hotter: a big difference

For a big difference, put much before the comparative: A habanero is much hotter than a jalapeño. A bell pepper has no heat at all, so it's much milder than a habanero.

A big difference? Say much

Put much before the comparative: A habanero is much hotter than a jalapeño. A bell pepper has no heat: it's much milder than a habanero.

Common mistakes

  • It's more hot. It's more hotter.

    It's hotter.

    short adjectives: -er, no more

  • This chile is hoter and spicyer.

    This chile is hotter and spicier.

    hot → hotter (tt), spicy → spicier (ier)

  • A jalapeño is milder as a habanero.

    A jalapeño is milder than a habanero.

    -er + than

  • Which is hotter, a jalapeño than a habanero?

    Which is hotter, a jalapeño or a habanero?

    Which…? A or B

More lessons on this grammar: Comparatives and superlatives lessons and exercises

Try the comparatives exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 16 auto-checked exercises
  • 4 games
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • compare two things with -er and than: A habanero is hotter than a jalapeño.
  • spell comparatives correctly: milder, nicer, hotter, spicier
  • ask and answer comparison questions: Which is hotter, a jalapeño or a habanero? No, it isn't. It's milder.
  • show a big difference with much: A bell pepper is much milder than a habanero.

Lesson 10 is the second lesson of American food, unit 3 of English A2.1 · Then and Now. It builds on the taste adjectives of A1.1 lesson 18, such as spicy and salty, and on the opposites of A1.1 lesson 15, like big and small, which now become bigger and smaller. A2.1 lesson 13 adds more, less, better and worse, and lesson 14 brings superlatives. The Scoville scale measures pepper heat in units, so hotter and milder have numbers behind them.

Students spin a wheel of questions about hot and sweet food, then learn ten words, from taste and burn to habanero and roaster, with pictures and audio. They read a farm stand poster about Wilbur Scoville's 1912 test, in which taste testers added more water until they couldn't feel the heat, then listen to Marco and Delia (an AI-voiced dialogue) taste peppers on a chile farm, and to Grandpa's challenge. The scheme is followed by four self-checking drills, including a gap-fill that compares the peppers. In the speaking chapter, students answer Nora's pepper quiz in a chat and open boxes that ask them to compare foods, drinks, animals and places.

Homework, all checked automatically, matches and unscrambles the words, drags them into sentences, sorts adjectives by how they form the comparative, and ends with gap-fills, word order, a quiz of questions and short answers, and a choice of forms in Marco's post about the farm.

Grammar:
comparatives · -er + than · much hotter · Which is hotter?
Topic:
New Mexico · chile peppers · the Scoville scale · Red or green? · American food · Grandpa's Map

Teaching tips

  • Line up three peppers before the poster, real ones or pictures: a bell pepper, a jalapeño and a habanero. Students guess the order of heat, then check it on the poster.
  • Group adjectives by spelling rule before the gap-fill: head four columns with mild, nice, hot and spicy, and students add cold, safe, big and easy to the right one.
  • Pause the farm dialogue after each tasting and ask Which is hotter? Students answer with the pepper's name first, then in a full sentence with than.
  • After the chat, run a quick class poll on two snacks or drinks. Pairs report the result with much where it fits: Salsa is much spicier than ketchup.

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The whole course: English A2.1 · Then and Now

32 lessons for adults at A2 in simple American English, from the past simple to going to, should and might. Eight units tell stories of journeys, American firsts, food, places, sports, music, neighbors and dreams. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Amazing journeys

    the past simple, regular and irregular verbs, negatives, prepositions of movement

    1. Lesson 1Around the world in 72 daysThe past simple of regular verbs
    2. Lesson 2The first drive across AmericaIrregular verbs in the past simple
    3. Lesson 3Get your kicks on Route 66Past simple negatives with didn't
    4. Lesson 4She walked 2,000 miles in sneakersPrepositions of movement

  2. Unit 2 American firsts

    was and were, past questions and short answers, ago and in, could for past ability

    1. Lesson 5The first American woman in spaceWas, were, there was and there were
    2. Lesson 6A real bug in the computerPast simple questions with did
    3. Lesson 7“Mr. Watson, come here”Wh- questions in the past simple
    4. Lesson 8Twelve seconds in the airCould and couldn't for past ability

  3. Unit 3 American food

    countable and uncountable nouns, comparatives, ordering food, a few and a little

    1. Lesson 9The first chocolate chip cookieCountable and uncountable nouns in a recipe
    2. Lesson 10 · you're hereIs a jalapeño hotter than a habanero?Comparatives of short adjectives
    3. Lesson 11Two eggs, sunny side up!Offers and orders with would like
    4. Lesson 12Cooking for twenty on ThanksgivingA few, a little and a lot of

  4. Unit 4 City or country?

    comparatives with more and less, superlatives, as … as, too and enough

    1. Lesson 13The island with no carsComparatives with more and less, plus better, worse and farther
    2. Lesson 14America's extremesSuperlatives with the + -est, the most and the least
    3. Lesson 15San Francisco or Yosemite? You choose!As … as for the same, not as … as for less
    4. Lesson 16A park on an old railroadToo, enough and not … enough

  5. Unit 5 Game on

    play, go and do with sports, going to, adverbs of manner, reflexive pronouns

    1. Lesson 17Basketball started with peach baskets?Play, go and do with sports
    2. Lesson 18What's going to happen at LA 2028?Be going to for plans and predictions
    3. Lesson 19Pickleball: a game from a backyardAdverbs of manner
    4. Lesson 20Be brave and tryReflexive pronouns and each other

  6. Unit 6 Music and nights out

    love, enjoy and hate + -ing, the present continuous for plans, suggestions, to for purpose

    1. Lesson 21Where jazz was bornGerunds after love, like, enjoy, hate and don't mind
    2. Lesson 22Music on every streetThe present continuous for future arrangements
    3. Lesson 23A night on BroadwaySuggestions with Let's, Why don't we and How about
    4. Lesson 24An orchestra for every kidThe infinitive of purpose and to or for

  7. Unit 7 Neighbors and community

    much and many, should, something and everyone, because and so

    1. Lesson 25Everybody cleans up!Much and many with nouns you can and can't count
    2. Lesson 26Good neighbors shovel snowShould and shouldn't + the base verb
    3. Lesson 27Take a book, leave a bookIndefinite pronouns with some-, any-, no- and every-
    4. Lesson 28A bench for making friendsBecause for reasons, so for results

  8. Unit 8 Plans and dreams

    verb + to, the present continuous vs going to, might, when, before and after

    1. Lesson 29Never give up: from farm fields to spaceVerb + to + the base form
    2. Lesson 30Across America by trainGoing to and the present continuous for the future
    3. Lesson 31Open in the year 6939Might and might not for possibility
    4. Lesson 32A college graduate at 95Time clauses with when, before and after

Questions about this lesson

What are comparative adjectives?
Comparative adjectives compare two people or things, usually with than: A habanero is hotter than a jalapeño. Short adjectives add -er (milder, sweeter), and longer ones use more, as in more delicious. A comparative can follow be or come before a noun: Bell peppers are sweeter. I'd like a milder salsa. The A2 lesson Is a jalapeño hotter than a habanero? on edio.ai keeps to the -er forms.
How do you make comparatives in English?
For short adjectives, use the adjective + -er, then than: cold, colder than; sweet, sweeter than. Put is or are before it and the second thing after than: Today is colder than yesterday. For a big difference, add much: much hotter. Long adjectives such as delicious take more instead: more delicious than.
What are the spelling rules for comparative adjectives?
There are four spelling rules for -er comparatives: most short adjectives just add -er (mild, milder); those ending in e add -r (nice, nicer); those ending in one vowel + one consonant double the consonant (hot, hotter); and a final y becomes -ier (spicy, spicier). A homework game in edio.ai's A2 lesson Is a jalapeño hotter than a habanero? sorts adjectives into three of these groups.
How do you ask questions with comparatives?
Use Which is…, A or B? to ask about a choice: Which is hotter, a jalapeño or a habanero? The answer names one: A habanero is hotter. For a yes/no question, put is or are first: Is a bell pepper hotter than a jalapeño? No, it isn't. It's milder. Keep the two patterns apart: Which is hotter, a jalapeño than a habanero? is wrong.
How do you use "much" with comparatives?
Put much right before the comparative to show a big difference: A habanero is much hotter than a jalapeño. A bell pepper is much milder than a habanero. Don't use very here: very hotter is wrong. The farm stand poster in Is a jalapeño hotter than a habanero?, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, gives the size of that difference: a habanero is ten times hotter than a jalapeño, or more.
Is it "hotter" or "more hot"?
It's hotter, because hot is a short adjective, and short adjectives add -er: hot, hotter; sweet, sweeter. Never use both at once: more hotter is always wrong. More is for longer adjectives, as in more delicious. In edio.ai's A2 lesson Is a jalapeño hotter than a habanero?, the pepper quiz chat lists A habanero is more hot among its wrong replies.
Is it "milder than" or "milder as"?
It's milder than: -er comparatives always take than. So say A jalapeño is milder than a habanero, not milder as or milder that. As goes with the plain adjective, in a different pattern: as hot as. The same goes for questions: Is a bell pepper sweeter than a jalapeño?
What taste adjectives describe spicy food?
The main taste adjectives for spicy food are hot, spicy and mild: hot and spicy for a strong burn, mild for not very hot. Sweet fits a bell pepper, which has no heat, and fresh and tasty describe a good salsa. All of them make comparatives with -er or -ier: hotter, milder, spicier, tastier. After a very hot pepper, your mouth burns.
How do I teach comparative adjectives to A2 students?
Compare real things students can see or taste, two at a time, so each sentence has a clear answer: The bell pepper is bigger than the habanero. Teach the -er pattern first, then the spelling rules, then questions with Which…? and much. In Is a jalapeño hotter than a habanero? on edio.ai, a poster with heat numbers and a tasting dialogue come before the scheme.
What's a good game for practicing comparatives?
Open the box and compare is a quick one: each box gives a prompt, such as Compare two drinks or Compare two animals, and the student answers in a full sentence: Lemonade is colder than tea. The class can then vote on whether each answer is true. One box in this lesson even asks for a bad joke: is it funnier or sillier than the one in the dialogue?
What's good homework for practicing comparatives?
Short drills that check themselves suit comparatives, since each gap has one right form: Today is colder than yesterday. My dog is smaller than yours. A sort by spelling rule, a word-order task and a quiz of questions and short answers cover the rest. That's the homework of Is a jalapeño hotter than a habanero? on edio.ai, which ends with a post about the chile farm with the right forms to choose.
Are there interactive exercises for comparatives?
Yes: self-checking comparative drills let learners test hotter, milder and spicier with instant feedback. Without signing up, you can try four parts of Is a jalapeño hotter than a habanero?, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, right here: the farm stand poster, Marco and Delia's tasting on a chile farm, a gap-fill that compares the peppers, and Nora's pepper quiz in a chat. The rest of the lesson is locked.
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