Comparatives & Superlatives – English Grammar Exercises for A2
You recently moved to a new house and you are telling your friend all about it. You are comparing your new place to your old apartment. Read the sentences carefully and choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each comparison.
1 “I am so happy I moved! My new apartment is ______ my old one.”
(A) bigger than
(B) more big than
(C) biggest than
(D) big than
2 “I can finally sleep well at night. The new neighborhood is much ______ the city center.”
(A) quiet than
(B) quieter than
(C) more quiet than
(D) the quietest
3 “The rent here is ______ before, but I think it is totally worth the money.”
(A) expensiver than
(B) more expensive than
(C) most expensive than
(D) expensive than
4 “The only bad thing is the commute. My new house is ______ from my office than the old apartment.”
(A) farer
(B) more far
(C) farther
(D) farest
5 “I love cooking now. The kitchen in this house is much ______ the old one.”
(A) gooder than
(B) more good than
(C) better than
(D) best than
6 “I love the bathroom. It is ______ the one in my old place.”
(A) moderner than
(B) more modern than
(C) most modern than
(D) modern than
7 “The balcony is a bit ______ my old one, but I still like sitting out there.”
(A) smaller than
(B) more small than
(C) smallest than
(D) small than
8 “This living room gets a lot of sun. It is ______ my old living room.”
(A) brightter than
(B) more bright than
(C) brighter than
(D) the brightest
9 “I bought a new bed, and it is ______ the old one. I sleep perfectly.”
(A) comfortabler than
(B) more comfortable than
(C) most comfortable than
(D) comfortable than
10 “I moved out because my old street was ______ this one. I hated the sound of the cars.”
(A) noisy than
(B) noisyer than
(C) more noisy than
(D) noisier than
11 “There are a lot of streetlights here. I feel ______ walking here at night than in my old neighborhood.”
(A) safer
(B) more safe
(C) safest
(D) safe
12 “Because the windows are new, the electricity bill here is ______ I expected.”
(A) cheaper than
(B) cheap than
(C) more cheap than
(D) cheapest
13 “It is so convenient! The supermarket is ______ to my new house than the old one.”
(A) close
(B) closer
(C) more close
(D) closest
14 “The only problem is that the traffic here is ______ than in my old town.”
(A) badder
(B) worse
(C) worst
(D) more bad
15 “The heating works perfectly. It is much ______ here in the winter.”
(A) warmer
(B) more warm
(C) warmest
(D) warm
16 “I overlook a beautiful park now. The view is ______ the view of the brick wall I had before.”
(A) beautifuler than
(B) more beautiful than
(C) beautiful than
(D) most beautiful than
17 “Because there are so many trees, the air in the suburbs is ______ in the city center.”
(A) cleaner than
(B) more clean than
(C) clean than
(D) cleanest
18 “The neighbors here are ______ my old neighbors. They always say hello to me.”
(A) friendlyer than
(B) more friendlyer than
(C) friendlier than
(D) friendly than
19 “I finally have a big closet! The space is ______ before.”
(A) usefuller than
(B) more useful than
(C) most useful than
(D) useful than
20 “I don’t have to drive around for hours anymore. It is ______ to find parking here than at my old apartment.”
(A) easyer
(B) easier
(C) more easy
(D) easiest
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 Key: (A) bigger than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Big” is a short, 1-syllable adjective ending in a consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) pattern. You double the final consonant (“g”) and add “-er” + “than”.
- Common Mistake: (B) We never use “more” with short 1-syllable adjectives.
2 Key: (B) quieter than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Quiet” is a 2-syllable adjective ending in an unstressed syllable, and it usually takes “-er” (quieter) in standard English.
- Meaning Trap: (D) “The quietest” is a superlative (comparing 3 or more things), but here we are only comparing two things (the new neighborhood vs. the city center).
3 Key: (B) more expensive than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Expensive” is a long adjective (3 syllables). For long adjectives, we do not add “-er”. Instead, we use “more” + adjective + “than”.
- Common Mistake: (A) “Expensiver” is grammatically invalid.
4 Key: (C) farther
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Far” is an irregular adjective. Its comparative form is “farther” (or “further”).
- Common Mistake: (A) “Farer” and (B) “more far” do not exist in standard English.
5 Key: (C) better than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Good” is an irregular adjective. The comparative form is “better”.
- Common Mistake: (A) “Gooder” is a very common beginner mistake, but it does not exist.
6 Key: (B) more modern than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Modern” is a 2-syllable adjective that does not end in “-y”. Therefore, we use “more” + adjective.
- Common Mistake: (A) “Moderner” is incorrect.
7 Key: (A) smaller than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Small” is a 1-syllable adjective. We simply add “-er” + “than”.
- Structural Error: (B) “More small” is invalid.
8 Key: (C) brighter than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Bright” is a 1-syllable adjective. Add “-er”.
- Spelling Error: (A) “Brightter” is misspelled (you only double the final consonant if it’s a CVC word; “bright” ends in two consonants, “ht”).
9 Key: (B) more comfortable than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Comfortable” is a very long adjective (4 syllables). We must use “more”.
- Common Mistake: (A) “Comfortabler” is invalid.
10 Key: (D) noisier than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Noisy” is a 2-syllable adjective ending in “y”. The rule is to change the “y” to “i” and add “-er”.
- Spelling Error: (B) “Noisyer” is incorrect.
- Common Mistake: (C) We don’t usually say “more noisy”.
11 Key: (A) safer
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Safe” is a 1-syllable adjective ending in “e”. You just add “r” to make it comparative.
- Common Mistake: (B) “More safe” is incorrect.
12 Key: (A) cheaper than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Cheap” is 1 syllable. Add “-er” + “than”.
- Structural Error: (C) “More cheap” is invalid.
13 Key: (B) closer
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Close” is a 1-syllable adjective. Add “r” to make it “closer”.
- Structural Error: (C) “More close” is invalid.
14 Key: (B) worse
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Bad” is an irregular adjective. Its comparative form is “worse”.
- Common Mistake: (A) “Badder” does not exist. (D) “More bad” is incorrect.
15 Key: (A) warmer
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Warm” is 1 syllable. Add “-er”.
- Structural Error: (B) “More warm” is invalid.
16 Key: (B) more beautiful than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Beautiful” is a long adjective. Use “more” + adjective.
- Common Mistake: (A) “Beautifuler” is incorrect.
17 Key: (A) cleaner than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Clean” is 1 syllable. Add “-er” + “than”.
- Structural Error: (B) “More clean” is invalid.
18 Key: (C) friendlier than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Friendly” ends in “y”. Change the “y” to “i” and add “-er”.
- Spelling Error: (A) “Friendlyer” is incorrect.
19 Key: (B) more useful than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Useful” has 2 syllables and does not end in “y”. We use “more” + adjective.
- Common Mistake: (A) “Usefuller” is invalid.
20 Key: (B) easier
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Easy” ends in “y”. Change “y” to “i” and add “-er”.
- Spelling Error: (A) “Easyer” is misspelled.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- The Function of Comparatives: We use comparative adjectives to compare exactly two things, people, or places. When you move to a new house, you are comparing “House A” (the old one) with “House B” (the new one).
- Always use the word than to connect the two things you are comparing.
- Example: “My new room is brighter than my old room.”
- Short Adjectives (1 Syllable):
- Rule: Add -er.
- Examples: cheap -> cheaper, quiet -> quieter.
- CVC Exception: If it ends in Consonant-Vowel-Consonant, double the last letter. (big -> bigger, hot -> hotter).
- Adjectives ending in “-y”:
- Rule: Drop the “y”, change it to “i”, and add -er.
- Examples: noisy -> noisier, friendly -> friendlier, easy -> easier.
- Long Adjectives (2+ Syllables):
- Rule: Do not add “-er”. Put more before the adjective.
- Examples: modern -> more modern, comfortable -> more comfortable.
- The Irregulars (Memorize these!):
- Good -> better
- Bad -> worse
- Far -> farther / further