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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Congratulations - you have completed Quiz: Comparative or Superlative?. You scored %%SCORE%% out of %%TOTAL%%. Your performance has been rated as %%RATING%%

Your answers are highlighted below.

Question 1

I'm ___________ man on the planet!

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

Question 2

The problems weren't ____________ I'd imagined.

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

Question 3

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

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

Question 3 Explanation:

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

Question 4

This is the city's ______________ bar.

A	popularest
B	more popular
C	less popular
D	most popular

Question 4 Explanation:

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

Question 5

What's __________ you've ever traveled?

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

Question 6

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

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

Question 6 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 7

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

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

Question 7 Explanation:

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

Question 8

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

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

Question 8 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 9

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

A	worst
B	badder
C	worse
D	more bad

Question 9 Explanation:

"More bad" and "badder" do not exist

Question 10

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

A	least crowded
B	less crowded
C	uncrowded
D	not 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

Which is _____________: gold or silver?

A	as expensive
B	expensiver
C	expensivest
D	more expensive

Question 11 Explanation:

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

Question 12

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

A	busiest
B	busier
C	more busy
D	most busy

Question 12 Explanation:

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

Question 13

My wife is ________ than I am.

A	more patient
B	patientest
C	most patient
D	patienter

Question 13 Explanation:

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

Question 14

What's _________ mountain in the world?

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

Question 15

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

A	best
B	more good
C	better
D	as good as

Question 15 Explanation:

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

Question 16

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

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

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 son is getting __________ every year.

A	taller
B	tallest
C	the most tall
D	more tall

Question 17 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 18

February is ____________ month of the year.

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

Question 19

After he finished the test, he felt ____________.

A	most relaxed
B	least relaxed
C	relaxeder
D	more relaxed

Question 19 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 20

Running a marathon is ____________ than doing a triathlon.