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%%

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Question 1

Running a marathon is ____________ than doing a triathlon.

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

Question 2

What's _________ mountain in the world?

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

Question 3

My son is getting __________ every year.

A	taller
B	more tall
C	tallest
D	the most tall

Question 3 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 4

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

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

Question 4 Explanation:

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

Question 5

I'm ___________ man on the planet!

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

Question 6

The problems weren't ____________ I'd imagined.

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

Question 7

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

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

Question 7 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 8

February is ____________ month of the year.

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

Question 9

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

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

Question 9 Explanation:

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

Question 10

Which is _____________: gold or silver?

A	expensivest
B	as expensive
C	more expensive
D	expensiver

Question 10 Explanation:

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

Question 11

What's __________ you've ever traveled?

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

Question 12

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

A	worst
B	worse
C	badder
D	more bad

Question 12 Explanation:

"More bad" and "badder" do not exist

Question 13

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 13 Explanation:

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

Question 14

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

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

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

My wife is ________ than I am.

A	most patient
B	patientest
C	patienter
D	more patient

Question 15 Explanation:

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

Question 16

This is the city's ______________ bar.

A	more popular
B	popularest
C	less popular
D	most popular

Question 16 Explanation:

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

Question 17

After he finished the test, he felt ____________.

A	least relaxed
B	most relaxed
C	relaxeder
D	more relaxed

Question 17 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 18

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