Comparatives and superlatives: ESL lesson plans and exercises

Q: How do you form comparatives and superlatives?

With -er and -est, or with more and the most. Short adjectives take the endings: cold, colder, the coldest ; big, bigger, the biggest ; easy, easier, the easiest . Longer ones put words in front: expensive, more expensive, the most expensive . Three change completely: good, better, the best ; bad, worse, the worst ; far, farther, the farthest .

Q: How do I teach comparatives and superlatives to A2 students?

One pattern at a time, with real things to compare. English A2.1 on edio.ai gives each its own lesson: -er and than with chile peppers; more , less and better on an island with no cars; superlatives with America's extremes; and as … as for San Francisco or Yosemite. In English A2.2, the longest cave I've ever seen links superlatives to the present perfect.

Q: What are good comparative and superlative games?

Contests where students compare and rank real things. A two-picture quiz ( Which is heavier, a horse or a car? ), a class survey ( Who has the longest name? ) and interviews built on What's the best … you've ever …? all need the forms. In each lesson's speaking chapter, students also get a chat and a game, from Spin the wheel to Open the box.

Q: Are there interactive comparative and superlative exercises?

Yes, there's a set to try right on this page. Each one comes from a lesson in the list, and you don't need an account to play it. The lessons have plenty more, with gap-fills, quizzes, drag-and-drop and tables to complete, and students see at once whether they got each form right. A free trial opens the whole library.

Q: When do you use as … as?

When two things are the same. The city is as beautiful as the park means they're equal, and with not , the first is less: The Golden Gate towers aren't as tall as El Capitan. Keep the plain adjective and close with as : as busy as , never as busier as or as busy than . Almost as … as means nearly the same.

Q: When do you use less and fewer?

Less with uncountable nouns, fewer with plural nouns. So it's less sugar and less time , but fewer ingredients and fewer people . Amounts of money and time take less as well: less than $2 , less than a year . Business English B2 practices both while comparing cold brews for a product launch.

Q: What are common mistakes with comparatives and superlatives?

Doubling up: more hotter or the most hottest . A word takes -er or more , never both, so it's hotter and the hottest . Learners also write as busy than for as busy as , hoter for hotter , and the more interesting where a whole group needs the most interesting .

Q: Do these comparative and superlative lessons work one-to-one?

Yes, they suit private students too. Live, the student answers in their own account while you follow in sync, and the speaking game works in a pair. For homework, the drills mark themselves, though you'll review some of the tasks yourself.

Levels A2 to C1 11 lesson plans · 4 drill lessons Exercises that check themselves

Comparatives set two things side by side (hotter than, more peaceful than), while superlatives name number one in a group: the highest peak in North America. This page brings together 11 ready-made lessons on both from the edio.ai library, levels A2 to C1, in American English, from chile peppers to a product launch. Try exercises taken from them, see the rules in their grammar schemes and pick the lesson that fits your class. They're interactive throughout, and the practice exercises mark every answer.

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Comparatives and superlatives lesson plans and drills

11 lesson plans and 4 drill lessons, A2 to C1. Lesson plans are whole lessons with reading, listening and speaking; drill lessons are 45 to 46 self-checking exercises with no new words.

Try the comparative and superlative exercises

One exercise from each of 6 lessons. These are the same exercises your students do in edio.

Comparatives and superlatives explained

We use a comparative to compare two things and a superlative to rank one thing above all the others in its group. Short adjectives add -er and -est (cold, colder, the coldest), long ones take more and the most, and good, bad and far have forms of their own: better, the best.

Short adjectives: -er + than

A short adjective adds -er, and than comes before the second thing: Bell peppers are sweeter than jalapeños. Spelling changes in three cases: nice adds just -r, hot doubles its last letter (hotter), and spicy becomes spicier.

Compare two things

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

A habanero is hotter than a jalapeño.

Bell peppers are sweeter than jalapeños.

How to spell it

Adjective	Rule	Comparative
mild, sweet, cold	+ er	milder, sweeter, colder
nice, safe	ends in e: + r	nicer, safer
hot, big, sad	ends in one vowel + one consonant (h-o-t): double the last letter + er	hotter, bigger, sadder
spicy, easy, busy	ends in y: y → ier	spicier, easier, busier

From the lesson Is a jalapeño hotter than a habanero? (English A2.1)

Long adjectives: more and less, plus better and worse

Longer adjectives take more (more peaceful), and less gives the opposite with any adjective: less noisy, less crowded. No adjective takes both -er and more. Good, bad and far become better, worse and farther.

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

good, bad, far: new words

Adjective	Compare	Example
good	better	For the loop road, a bike is better than a carriage.
bad	worse	Marco's jokes are bad, but Biscuit's singing is worse!
far	farther	The bike shop is far, but the fudge shop is farther!

From the lesson The island with no cars (English A2.1)

Superlatives: the + -est or the most

A superlative puts one thing first in a group, and the comes before it: the hottest, the most famous, the least comfortable. A place after it usually takes in, not of: Denali is the highest peak in North America.

Two things or number one?

Two things: comparative + than

Death Valley is hotter than Utqiagvik.
Denali is higher than a skyscraper!

Number one in a group: the + superlative

The NPS says Death Valley is the hottest place on Earth.
Denali is the highest peak in North America.

Long adjectives: the most, the least

Adjective	Superlative	Example
famous	the most famous	Biscuit is the most famous star on our channel!
beautiful	the most beautiful	For me, Badwater is the most beautiful place in the park.
interesting	the most interesting	Utqiagvik is the most interesting city on our list.
comfortable	the least comfortable (the opposite of the most)	The Toaster has the least comfortable beds in America!

From the lesson America's extremes (English A2.1)

As … as: the same, or less

As + adjective + as means two things are equal, and with not, the first is less: Yosemite isn't as busy as San Francisco, so San Francisco is busier. The adjective stays plain, and the pattern ends in as, never than.

The same

asadjectiveas

The city is as beautiful as the park.

Biscuit is as hungry as a bear!

Two ways, one idea

-er than / more … than

Yosemite is quieter than the city.
The city is busier than the park.
The park is more peaceful than the city.

not as … as

The city isn't as quiet as Yosemite.
The park isn't as busy as the city.
The city isn't as peaceful as the park.

From the lesson San Francisco or Yosemite? You choose! (English A2.1)

The best … I've ever …

For a top experience, a superlative pairs with the present perfect: It's the longest cave I've ever seen. The pattern is have or has + ever + a past participle, as in the best stew we've ever eaten, and the word is ever, not never.

thesuperlativenounperson + have / has everpast participle

It's the longest cave I've ever seen.

That was the best stew we've ever eaten.

This is the darkest place she has ever been.

From the lesson The longest cave in the world (English A2.2)

How big is the difference? Much, far, slightly

B2 learners say how big the gap is: far cheaper or much cheaper for a big one, slightly cheaper or a bit cheaper for a small one, and even more for one step further. Very never goes before a comparative.

Difference	Modifier + comparative	Example
big	much, far, a lot (informal), considerably, significantly (formal)	At $0.80, the supermarket can is far cheaper than ours at $1.60.
small	slightly, a bit (informal), a little	At $1.60, ours is slightly cheaper than the New York chain's bottle at $1.80.
one step further	even + comparative	Ours costs more than the supermarket can, and the New York chain's costs even more.
none	no + comparative + than	Both are aluminum cans: ours is no more recyclable than theirs.

From the lesson Launching a Product (Business English B2)

Questions about comparatives and superlatives

How do you form comparatives and superlatives?

With -er and -est, or with more and the most. Short adjectives take the endings: cold, colder, the coldest; big, bigger, the biggest; easy, easier, the easiest. Longer ones put words in front: expensive, more expensive, the most expensive. Three change completely: good, better, the best; bad, worse, the worst; far, farther, the farthest.

What's the difference between a comparative and a superlative?

A comparative compares two; a superlative picks the top one. Death Valley is hotter than Utqiagvik compares two places, so it needs than. Death Valley is the hottest place on Earth ranks it first, so it needs the. With three or more things, choose the superlative: the most popular of the three, not the more popular.

How do I teach comparatives and superlatives to A2 students?

One pattern at a time, with real things to compare. English A2.1 on edio.ai gives each its own lesson: -er and than with chile peppers; more, less and better on an island with no cars; superlatives with America's extremes; and as … as for San Francisco or Yosemite. In English A2.2, the longest cave I've ever seen links superlatives to the present perfect.

What are good comparative and superlative games?

Contests where students compare and rank real things. A two-picture quiz (Which is heavier, a horse or a car?), a class survey (Who has the longest name?) and interviews built on What's the best … you've ever …? all need the forms. In each lesson's speaking chapter, students also get a chat and a game, from Spin the wheel to Open the box.

Are there interactive comparative and superlative exercises?

Yes, there's a set to try right on this page. Each one comes from a lesson in the list, and you don't need an account to play it. The lessons have plenty more, with gap-fills, quizzes, drag-and-drop and tables to complete, and students see at once whether they got each form right. A free trial opens the whole library.

When do you use as … as?

When two things are the same. The city is as beautiful as the park means they're equal, and with not, the first is less: The Golden Gate towers aren't as tall as El Capitan. Keep the plain adjective and close with as: as busy as, never as busier as or as busy than. Almost as … as means nearly the same.

When do you use less and fewer?

Less with uncountable nouns, fewer with plural nouns. So it's less sugar and less time, but fewer ingredients and fewer people. Amounts of money and time take less as well: less than $2, less than a year. Business English B2 practices both while comparing cold brews for a product launch.

What are common mistakes with comparatives and superlatives?

Doubling up: more hotter or the most hottest. A word takes -er or more, never both, so it's hotter and the hottest. Learners also write as busy than for as busy as, hoter for hotter, and the more interesting where a whole group needs the most interesting.

Do these comparative and superlative lessons work one-to-one?

Yes, they suit private students too. Live, the student answers in their own account while you follow in sync, and the speaking game works in a pair. For homework, the drills mark themselves, though you'll review some of the tasks yourself.

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Comparatives and superlatives: ESL lesson plans and exercises

Comparatives and superlatives lesson plans and drills

Is a jalapeño hotter than a habanero?

The island with no cars

America's extremes

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The longest cave in the world

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Superlatives: the best in town

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