Comparatives & Superlatives – English Grammar Exercises for A2
Choose the best option to complete each sentence.
1 This jacket is a bit tight. Do you have a ______ size in stock?
(a) more big
(b) bigger
(c) bigest
(d) more bigger
2 I think the red dress is ______ than the blue one I tried on earlier.
(a) prettyer
(b) more pretty
(c) prettier
(d) as pretty
3 This shirt is too small. I need something ______ than this.
(a) larger
(b) large
(c) more large
(d) largest
4 The trousers are too long. Could you show me a ______ pair?
(a) shorter
(b) more short
(c) shortter
(d) shortest
5 These shoes are nice, but I’m looking for something ______ for walking all day.
(a) comfortabler
(b) more comfortable
(c) most comfortable
(d) more comfortably
6 This Medium size feels even ______ than the Small! It must be a different brand.
(a) badder
(b) more bad
(c) worst
(d) worse
7 I love this silk shirt, but it is much ______ than the cotton one.
(a) expensiver
(b) more expensive
(c) most expensive
(d) as expensive
8 Of all the jeans I have tried today, these are definitely ______!
(a) the most comfortable
(b) more comfortable
(c) the comfortablest
(d) most comfortable
9 The fitting room over there is ______ than this one because it has a better mirror.
(a) gooder
(b) better
(c) best
(d) more good
10 Do you have this sweater in a ______ color? This yellow is too bright for me.
(a) darker
(b) more dark
(c) darkker
(d) darkest
11 I’m afraid this XL is ______ than I expected. It’s still quite tight.
(a) smaller
(b) smallest
(c) more small
(d) small
12 This department store is much ______ than the boutique down the street.
(a) more cheap
(b) cheaper
(c) cheapest
(d) cheap
13 The ______ size we have available in this style is a Large.
(a) larger
(b) more large
(c) largest
(d) most large
14 This skirt is ______ than the one on the mannequin.
(a) longer
(b) more long
(c) longest
(d) longger
15 I’m sorry, but this shirt isn’t ______ the one I saw in the window display.
(a) as nice as
(b) more nice than
(c) nicer that
(d) nice than
16 The ______ the fabric, the more it will cost.
(a) softer
(b) more soft
(c) softest
(d) most soft
17 I need a belt that is ______ this one; this one is too short.
(a) more long than
(b) longer than
(c) longest than
(d) as long that
18 This mirror makes me look ______ than the mirror in the other room!
(a) thiner
(b) more thin
(c) thinner
(d) the thinnest
19 This is ______ price we can offer for this leather jacket, even with the discount.
(a) the lower
(b) lowest
(c) the lowest
(d) the most low
20 Could I try the Large? This Medium is ______ for me to wear comfortably.
(a) more small
(b) too small
(c) smaller
(d) the smallest
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (b) bigger
- Why correct: “Big” is a one-syllable adjective ending in consonant-vowel-consonant, so we double the ‘g’ and add -er.
- Analysis: (a) “More big” is a structural error; (c) “Bigest” is a spelling error; (d) “More bigger” is a common double-comparative mistake.
2 (c) prettier
- Why correct: For two-syllable adjectives ending in -y, we change the -y to -i and add -er.
- Analysis: (a) Spelling error; (b) “More pretty” is less natural; (d) “As pretty” is a meaning trap because it suggests no difference.
3 (a) larger
- Why correct: “Large” ends in -e, so we just add -r for the comparative form.
- Analysis: (b) Base form; (c) “More large” is incorrect; (d) Superlative is used for comparing 3+ items.
4 (a) shorter
- Why correct: “Short” is a one-syllable adjective; we add -er to compare.
- Analysis: (b) Structural error; (c) Spelling error (no double ‘t’); (d) Superlative error.
5 (b) more comfortable
- Why correct: “Comfortable” is a long adjective (4 syllables), requiring “more.”
- Analysis: (a) Structural error; (c) Superlative error; (d) “Comfortably” is an adverb.
6 (d) worse
- Why correct: “Worse” is the irregular comparative form of “bad.”
- Analysis: (a) Common mistake “badder”; (b) Structural error; (c) Superlative error.
7 (b) more expensive
- Why correct: “Expensive” is a long adjective.
- Analysis: (a) Common “expensiver” mistake; (c) Superlative error; (d) Needs another “as.”
8 (a) the most comfortable
- Why correct: The speaker is comparing “all the jeans,” so the superlative “the most” is required.
- Analysis: (b) Comparative error; (c) Structural error; (d) Missing “the.”
9 (b) better
- Why correct: “Better” is the irregular comparative of “good.”
- Analysis: (a) Common “gooder” mistake; (c) Superlative error; (d) Structural error.
10 (a) darker
- Why correct: “Dark” is a one-syllable adjective; we add -er.
- Analysis: (b) Structural error; (c) Spelling error; (d) Superlative error.
11 (a) smaller
- Why correct: The speaker is comparing the actual fit to their expectation.
- Analysis: (b) Superlative error; (c) Structural error; (d) Meaning trap (grammatically okay but lacks comparison).
12 (b) cheaper
- Why correct: “Cheap” is a one-syllable adjective.
- Analysis: (a) Common mistake; (c) Superlative error; (d) Base form.
13 (c) largest
- Why correct: “The” indicates a superlative is needed to show the limit of the stock.
- Analysis: (a) Comparative error; (b) Structural error; (d) Structural error.
14 (a) longer
- Why correct: Standard comparative for “long.”
- Analysis: (b) Common mistake; (c) Superlative error; (d) Spelling error.
15 (a) as nice as
- Why correct: “As + adjective + as” is used to show equality (or lack thereof with “not”).
- Analysis: (b) “Nice” is short, shouldn’t use “more”; (c) Wrong preposition (“that” instead of “than”); (d) Missing “more” or “-er.”
16 (a) softer
- Why correct: This follows the “The [comparative], the [comparative]” structure.
- Analysis: (b) Structural error; (c/d) Superlative errors.
17 (b) longer than
- Why correct: Comparative “longer” + “than” for a direct comparison.
- Analysis: (a) Common mistake; (c) Superlative error; (d) Structural error (“as… that”).
18 (c) thinner
- Why correct: “Thin” is consonant-vowel-consonant, so we double the ‘n’.
- Analysis: (a) Spelling error; (b) Structural error; (d) Superlative error.
19 (c) the lowest
- Why correct: Superlative “the lowest” indicates the extreme end of the price range.
- Analysis: (a) Comparative error; (b) Missing “the”; (d) Structural error.
20 (b) too small
- Why correct: “Too” is used to indicate an excessive amount that causes a problem (meaning trap).
- Analysis: (a) Structural error; (c) Grammatically correct but contextually, “too small” better explains why they need a different size; (d) Superlative error.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- One-syllable adjectives: Add -er for comparative and the -est for superlative (small → smaller → the smallest).
- One-syllable (CVC): Double the final consonant (big → bigger → the biggest).
- Two-syllable adjectives ending in -y: Change -y to -i and add -er/-est (heavy → heavier → the heaviest).
- Long adjectives (2+ syllables): Use more/less for comparative and the most/the least for superlative (expensive → more expensive → the most expensive).
- Irregular forms:
- Good → Better → The best
- Bad → Worse → The worst
- Far → Farther/Further → The farthest/furthest
- Comparison of Equality: Use as + adjective + as (This shirt is as large as that one).
- The “Than” Rule: Always use than (not that or then) when comparing two things directly.