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The island with no cars: comparatives with more, less, better and worse

An A2 ESL lesson plan on comparatives with more, less, better and worse, for comparing a car-free island with a busy city.

Grammar
Comparatives with more and less before longer adjectives (more peaceful, less noisy), the irregular better, worse and farther, and when -er wins instead: quieter, but more crowded.
Topic
Mackinac Island, Michigan, where the village council banned early cars in 1898 and people walk, bike or take a carriage, with words such as rent, pedal, fudge and peaceful.
Activities
A visitor guide post to read, a bike-ride dialogue and a voice message to hear, self-checking drills, a chat with Nora, and open boxes that ask: city or island?

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1No cars? No problem!

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

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: welcome, fudgies!

    • Look at the photo: Mackinac IslandPictureUnlock
    • Read the visitor guide postReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: bikes, fudge and Grandpa

    • Listen to Nora and MarcoListeningTry 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: quieter, more peaceful, better

    • Study the scheme: more, less, betterGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the right formChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: compare two thingsFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: compare two thingsFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the right sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: city or island?

    • Choose the right replies: Nora's messagesChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: city or island?Open the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the words: island lifeAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: island wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Sort the words into the correct columns: -er or more?Sort into columnsUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: then and nowFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct order: Marco's messageUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Nora's postChoose the optionUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: a viewer's commentDrag and dropUnlock

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

  • fudge
  • traffic
  • snowmobile
  • lilac
  • peaceful
  • crowded
  • noisy

Grammar: comparatives with more and less, plus better, worse and farther

A town with no traffic invites comparisons that -er alone can't make. Learners already know hotter and spicier; here they put more or less before longer adjectives and meet three irregular comparatives, better, worse and farther. The scheme sorts adjectives into short and long, and a tip answers the obvious question: how long is long?

quieter, more peaceful, better: compare two places

Short adjectives take -er. Long adjectives take more. less goes with every adjective. good, bad and far have new words.

Short adjectives take -er, long ones take more

One-syllable adjectives, adjectives ending in -y and quiet add -er: slower, busier, quieter. Most other adjectives of two or more syllables take more: more peaceful, more crowded, more relaxing. Never use -er and more together: more quieter and more peacefuller are both wrong.

Short or long?

short: + -er

  • slow → slower, small → smaller
  • big → bigger, hot → hotter
  • busy → busier, noisy → noisier
  • quiet → quieter

long: more + adjective (+)

  • peaceful → more peaceful
  • beautiful → more beautiful
  • crowded → more crowded
  • relaxing → more relaxing

the opposite: less + adjective (−)

  • noisy → less noisy
  • crowded → less crowded
  • expensive → less expensive

How long is long?

Short: one syllable (slow, big), words with -y (busy, noisy) and quiet. Add -er: slower, bigger, busier, quieter. Long: most other words with two or more syllables (peaceful, crowded, beautiful). Use more: more peaceful. Use less with every adjective: less noisy, less crowded. Never both: not more quieter, not less bigger (say smaller).

Less, then than

Less turns the comparison around and works with any adjective: less noisy, less crowded, less expensive. Than then brings in the second thing: My street is less noisy than downtown. With a short adjective, the opposite word is often simpler: smaller, not less bigger.

thing 1is / are-er / more … / less …thanthing 2

Tucson is hotter than Michigan.

The streets are more peaceful than in the city.

Good, bad, far: better, worse, farther

Three everyday adjectives change into new words: good becomes better, bad becomes worse, far becomes farther. For distance, American English prefers farther, and further is heard too; more far and farer are always wrong.

good, bad, far: new words

AdjectiveCompareExample
goodbetterFor the loop road, a bike is better than a carriage.
badworseMarco's jokes are bad, but Biscuit's singing is worse!
farfartherThe bike shop is far, but the fudge shop is farther!

far → farther

Use farther for distance: Albuquerque is farther from the island than Columbus. You can also hear further. Not: more far, farer.

On the island: three kinds at once

The examples, set on the island's quiet streets, mix all three kinds: It's more peaceful than my street in Columbus. And it's less noisy than Tucson. A carriage is slower. This fudge is better than my chocolate cake.

  • It's more peaceful than my street in Columbus.
  • And it's less noisy than Tucson.
  • A carriage is slower. For the loop road, a bike is better.
  • Eight miles? That's farther than my walk to work!
  • This fudge is better than my chocolate cake.

Common mistakes

  • My street is more quieter than yours.

    My street is quieter than yours.

    -er or more, never both

  • The lake is beautifuller than the city.

    The lake is more beautiful than the city.

    a long word: more

  • My school is more far. It's farer.

    My school is farther.

    far → farther

  • Rain is worst than snow.

    Rain is worse than snow.

    bad → worse

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

Try the comparatives with more and less 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 places with more and less before longer adjectives: The island is more peaceful than the city. My street is less noisy than downtown.
  • use better, worse and farther, the comparatives of good, bad and far: For the loop road, a bike is better than a carriage.
  • choose -er or more, never both: quieter, not more quieter; more beautiful, not beautifuller
  • compare their own town with an island in a chat: Yes, it's bigger and more crowded than the island.

Lesson 13 opens City or country?, unit 4 of English A2.1 · Then and Now, where learners compare places and recommend one. It builds on A2.1 lesson 10, which taught short adjectives with -er and than (hotter, spicier), and lesson 14 moves on to superlatives. On an island where people walk, bike or take a carriage, almost every sentence about daily life becomes a comparison with home.

Students spin a wheel of questions about traffic, bikes and islands, then learn ten words, from rent and pedal to snowmobile and lilac, with pictures and audio. The reading is a visitor guide post about Mackinac Island, Michigan: how to say its name, why carriage owners asked for the 1898 ban on early cars, and why visitors are called fudgies. Next come Nora and Marco renting bikes for the loop road (an AI-voiced dialogue) and a voice message with Grandpa's challenge. Four drills follow the scheme and check every answer, among them a table of adjectives to turn into comparatives. In the speaking chapter, students choose replies to Nora's messages from the island, then open boxes that ask: city or island?

Homework has eight exercises that check themselves: a word match, an anagram and gaps with the island words, adjectives to sort into -er, more and new words, then-and-now gaps, a message to unjumble, a post with the right forms to choose, and a viewer's comment to complete by dragging words.

Grammar:
comparatives · more / less + long adjectives · better, worse, farther · short vs long adjectives
Topic:
Mackinac Island · Michigan · a town with no cars · bikes and horses · fudge · city or island

Teaching tips

  • Sort adjectives into two columns before the scheme: write -er and more on the board, call out slow, busy, peaceful, quiet and crowded, and let students place each one. The tip then settles any arguments.
  • Ask how people get around without cars before the reading. Students list their guesses, then check them against the visitor guide, where even deliveries travel by horse.
  • Stop the bike-ride dialogue after each comparison and have students say the same about their own town: It's more peaceful than…, It's less noisy than…
  • Turn one open box into a quick debate: half the class argues that life with no cars is better, half that it's worse, and every reason needs more, less, better or worse.

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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 10Is 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 13 · you're hereThe 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

When do comparative adjectives take more instead of -er?
In comparative adjectives, more replaces -er for most longer adjectives, those with two or more syllables: more peaceful, more crowded, more beautiful. One-syllable adjectives and two-syllable ones ending in -y add -er instead (slower, busier, noisier), and so does quiet: quieter. A comparative never takes both, so more quieter is wrong. For the opposite idea, less fits any adjective: less noisy, less crowded.
How do you use good, better and best?
Use good for one thing and better to compare two, then the best for number one in a group: This fudge is good. It's better than my chocolate cake. It's the best fudge in town. Better goes with than and the best with the, and neither ever takes more or -er. The A2 lesson The island with no cars on edio.ai drills better; the course's next lesson brings the best, with the other superlatives.
What is the comparative of bad?
The comparative of bad is worse, an irregular form with no -er and no more: A rainy day is worse for a bike ride than a sunny day. The weather is worse here. More bad is wrong, and worst belongs to the superlative, the worst. In The island with no cars, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, a chat reply about rainy weather sits beside both traps: more bad and worst.
What are irregular comparatives?
Irregular comparatives are new words instead of -er or more: good becomes better, bad becomes worse, and far becomes farther or further. Many and much become more, and little becomes less. They still take than: Eight miles? That's farther than my walk to work! No rule produces them, so learners memorize the pairs, and a short table of good, bad and far makes a good start.
What's the difference between farther and further?
For distance, farther and further are both correct, and American English usually prefers farther: My school is farther from my home than the store. Only further also means more or extra, as in further questions or further information. A simple rule for learners: farther for miles and places, further for more of something. The gap-fill in The island with no cars on edio.ai accepts either word for distance.
Is it "worse than" or "worst than"?
It's always worse than, because worst never takes than: Rain is worse than snow. Worse compares two things. Worst is a superlative, so it needs the and a whole group: the worst weather in town. A quick check: than in the sentence means worse; the plus a group means the worst. On edio.ai, superlatives get their own A2 lesson right after The island with no cars.
What's the difference between worse and worst?
Worse compares two things; the worst tops a group. They're the comparative and the superlative of bad, just as better and the best belong to good: Monday was bad, Tuesday was worse, and Friday was the worst day of the week. Worse usually comes with than; worst almost always comes after the or a possessive, as in my worst day.
Is it "farther", "further" or "more far"?
Say farther or further, never more far: far is irregular, like good and bad, so it takes neither more nor -er, and farer is wrong too. The bike shop is far, but the fudge shop is farther! Albuquerque is farther from the island than Columbus. Both right forms work before than, and both answer the question How far?
Is it "gooder" or "better"?
It's better, the irregular comparative of good: For me, chocolate cake is better than fudge. Gooder isn't standard English, and more better marks the comparison twice, so both are wrong; the same goes for more worse. The A2 lesson The island with no cars on edio.ai puts gooder and more better into its chat as the wrong replies, next to the right one.
How do I teach comparatives with more and less to A2 students?
Start from -er, then show where it stops working: quieter sounds right, peacefuller doesn't, so longer adjectives take more. Sort a dozen adjectives into two columns, add less as the opposite of more, and present better, worse and farther as three words to learn by heart. Then let students compare two real places, such as their town and a quiet island, so every form answers a real question.
What's a good game for practicing comparatives?
A good one is an open-the-box round of which is better? questions: each box holds a pair, such as a bike or a car or a big city or a small island, and the student answers with a comparative and a reason. This lesson's last box asks for three sentences with more, less, better, worse or farther, and its homework adds a sorting game: -er or more?
Are there interactive exercises for comparatives with more and less?
Yes: gap-fills and chats that check every answer give instant feedback on more, less, better and worse. Four parts of The island with no cars, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, can be tried here without an account: the island's visitor guide post, Nora and Marco's dialogue on rented bikes, a gap-fill that compares two things, and the chat in which Nora messages from the island. The other exercises are locked.
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