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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Question 1

This is the city's ______________ bar.

A	most popular
B	more popular
C	less popular
D	popularest

Question 1 Explanation:

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

Question 2

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

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

Question 2 Explanation:

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

Question 3

February is ____________ month of the year.

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

Question 4

I'm ___________ man on the planet!

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

Question 5

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

A	busier
B	most busy
C	busiest
D	more busy

Question 5 Explanation:

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

Question 6

My son is getting __________ every year.

A	tallest
B	taller
C	more tall
D	the most tall

Question 6 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 7

What's _________ mountain in the world?

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

Question 8

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

A	less crowded
B	least crowded
C	not crowded
D	uncrowded

Question 8 Explanation:

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

Question 9

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

A	as good as
B	more good
C	better
D	best

Question 9 Explanation:

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

Question 10

After he finished the test, he felt ____________.

A	more relaxed
B	relaxeder
C	most relaxed
D	least relaxed

Question 10 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 11

The problems weren't ____________ I'd imagined.

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

Question 12

Which is _____________: gold or silver?

A	expensivest
B	more expensive
C	as expensive
D	expensiver

Question 12 Explanation:

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

Question 13

Running a marathon is ____________ than doing a triathlon.

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

Question 14

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

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

Question 14 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 15

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

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

Question 15 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 16

What's __________ you've ever traveled?