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?

Please wait while the activity loads.
If this activity does not load, try refreshing your browser. Also, this page requires javascript. Please visit using a browser with javascript enabled.

If loading fails, click here to try again

Choose the correct adjective to complete the sentence - comparative or superlative.

Start

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

A	as good as
B	best
C	more good
D	better

Question 1 Explanation:

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

Question 2

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

A	not crowded
B	uncrowded
C	less crowded
D	least crowded

Question 2 Explanation:

We are comparing two things: this restaurant, and the restaurant across the street - so we use the comparative "less crowded"

Question 3

After he finished the test, he felt ____________.

A	more relaxed
B	relaxeder
C	most relaxed
D	least relaxed

Question 3 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 4

What's _________ mountain in the world?

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

Question 5

This is the city's ______________ bar.

A	more popular
B	popularest
C	less popular
D	most popular

Question 5 Explanation:

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

Question 6

The problems weren't ____________ I'd imagined.

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

Question 7

Which is _____________: gold or silver?

A	more expensive
B	as expensive
C	expensivest
D	expensiver

Question 7 Explanation:

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

Question 8

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

A	more busy
B	busiest
C	busier
D	most busy

Question 8 Explanation:

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

Question 9

February is ____________ month of the year.

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

Question 10

My son is getting __________ every year.

A	the most tall
B	more tall
C	taller
D	tallest

Question 10 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 11

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

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

Question 11 Explanation:

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

Question 12

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

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

Question 12 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 13

My wife is ________ than I am.

A	more patient
B	most patient
C	patienter
D	patientest

Question 13 Explanation:

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

Question 14

Running a marathon is ____________ than doing a triathlon.

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

Question 15

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

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

Question 15 Explanation:

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

Question 16

What's __________ you've ever traveled?

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

Question 17

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

A	worse
B	worst
C	more bad
D	badder

Question 17 Explanation:

"More bad" and "badder" do not exist

Question 18

I'm ___________ man on the planet!

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

Question 19

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

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

Question 19 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 20

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

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

Question 20 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"

Once you are finished, click the button below. Any items you have not completed will be marked incorrect. Get Results

There are 20 questions to complete.