Comparatives & Superlatives – English Grammar Exercises for A2
You and your colleague are comparing price lists and services from two stationery companies, Supplier A (OfficeWorld) and Supplier B (PaperPlus). You must choose the best partner for your company. Read the conversations carefully and choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each comparison.
1 “Look at this price list. The pens from Supplier A are ______ the pens from Supplier B. We can save a lot of money.”
(A) cheaper than
(B) more cheap than
(C) cheapest than
(D) cheap than
2 “That is true, but the paper quality from Supplier B is much ______ Supplier A’s paper.”
(A) gooder than
(B) more good than
(C) better than
(D) best than
3 “We need these notebooks by tomorrow morning. Supplier A’s delivery service is ______ Supplier B’s.”
(A) fast than
(B) faster than
(C) more fast than
(D) the fastest
4 “I called both companies yesterday. The sales rep at Supplier B was ______ the one at Supplier A.”
(A) friendlier than
(B) more friendlyer than
(C) friendlyer than
(D) friendly than
5 “Supplier A has a ______ catalog of office chairs than Supplier B.”
(A) wider
(B) more wide
(C) widest
(D) wider than
6 “I tried to order online. Supplier B’s website is ______ Supplier A’s website.”
(A) easyer to use than
(B) easier to use than
(C) more easy to use than
(D) easiest to use than
7 “If we need to return any broken items, Supplier B’s warehouse is ______ Supplier A’s.”
(A) near than
(B) more near than
(C) nearer than
(D) nearest than
8 “Be careful, though. Supplier A’s shipping fee is ______ Supplier B’s fee.”
(A) expensiver than
(B) more expensive than
(C) most expensive than
(D) expensive than
9 “I read the online customer reviews. Supplier A’s reviews are actually ______ Supplier B’s.”
(A) badder than
(B) more bad than
(C) worse than
(D) worst than
10 “We need a partner we can trust every month. Supplier B is ______ Supplier A.”
(A) reliabler than
(B) more reliable than
(C) reliable than
(D) the most reliable
11 “Supplier A’s response time to my email was ______ Supplier B’s. They replied in just ten minutes!”
(A) quicker than
(B) more quick than
(C) quickest than
(D) quick than
12 “The minimum order quantity for Supplier B is ______ Supplier A’s. We don’t have to buy too much at once.”
(A) smaller than
(B) more small than
(C) smallest than
(D) small than
13 “Supplier A offered us a 15% discount. Their discount is ______ Supplier B’s discount.”
(A) biger than
(B) more big than
(C) biggest than
(D) bigger than
14 “The contract with Supplier B is much ______ the one from Supplier A. It only has two pages to read.”
(A) short than
(B) shorter than
(C) more short than
(D) the shortest
15 “The black printer ink from Supplier B is ______ Supplier A’s ink. Our printed reports will look very professional.”
(A) darkker than
(B) more dark than
(C) darker than
(D) darkest than
16 “The printing paper from Supplier A is ______ Supplier B’s paper. It won’t tear easily.”
(A) thickker than
(B) thicker than
(C) more thick than
(D) thick than
17 “Supplier A’s warehouse is ______ Supplier B’s warehouse, so their delivery trucks take longer to arrive.”
(A) farther than
(B) farer than
(C) more far than
(D) farest than
18 “Supplier B’s customer service team is ______ Supplier A’s team. They gave me a lot of useful advice.”
(A) helpfuler than
(B) more helpful than
(C) most helpful than
(D) helpful than
19 “Also, the manager at Supplier B was ______ the manager at Supplier A.”
(A) politter than
(B) more polite than
(C) politer that
(D) polite than
20 “After comparing everything, Supplier B’s overall offer is ______ Supplier A’s. Let’s sign the contract with them!”
(A) better than
(B) more good than
(C) best than
(D) gooder than
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 Key: (A) cheaper than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Cheap” is a 1-syllable adjective. To compare two suppliers, we add “-er” and the word “than”.
- Common Mistake (B): We never use “more” with short 1-syllable adjectives.
- Structural Error (D): Missing “-er”.
2 Key: (C) better than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Good” is an irregular adjective. The comparative form is “better”.
- Common Mistake (A & B): “Gooder” and “more good” do not exist in English.
3 Key: (B) faster than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Fast” is 1 syllable. Add “-er” + “than”.
- Structural Error (C): “More fast” is invalid.
4 Key: (A) friendlier than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Friendly” is a 2-syllable adjective ending in “-y”. Change the “y” to “i” and add “-er”.
- Spelling Error (C): “Friendlyer” is misspelled.
- Structural Error (B): “More friendlyer” is a double comparative (using both “more” and “-er”), which is grammatically forbidden.
5 Key: (A) wider
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: The word “than” is already in the sentence (“…than Supplier B”). “Wide” is 1 syllable ending in “e”, so we just add “r”.
- Structural Error (D): If you choose “wider than”, the sentence would say “wider than than”, which is a repetition error.
6 Key: (B) easier to use than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Easy” ends in “y”. Change “y” to “i” and add “-er”.
- Spelling Error (A): “Easyer” is incorrect.
- Structural Error (C): “More easy” is invalid.
7 Key: (C) nearer than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Near” is a 1-syllable adjective. Add “-er” + “than”.
- Structural Error (B): “More near” is invalid.
8 Key: (B) more expensive than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Expensive” is a long adjective (3 syllables). We do not add “-er”. We use “more” + adjective + “than”.
- Common Mistake (A): “Expensiver” is incorrect.
9 Key: (C) worse than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Bad” is an irregular adjective. Its comparative form is “worse”.
- Common Mistake (A & B): “Badder” and “more bad” do not exist.
10 Key: (B) more reliable than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Reliable” is a long adjective (4 syllables). Use “more” + adjective.
- Common Mistake (A): “Reliabler” is invalid.
11 Key: (A) quicker than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Quick” is a 1-syllable adjective. Add “-er” + “than”.
- Structural Error (B): “More quick” is invalid.
12 Key: (A) smaller than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Small” is a 1-syllable adjective. Add “-er” + “than”.
- Structural Error (B): “More small” is invalid.
13 Key: (D) bigger than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Big” is a short CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) word. You must double the final “g” and add “-er”.
- Spelling Error (A): “Biger” is misspelled.
14 Key: (B) shorter than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Short” is 1 syllable. Add “-er” + “than”.
- Structural Error (C): “More short” is invalid.
15 Key: (C) darker than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Dark” is 1 syllable. Add “-er”. You do not double the “k” because it is not a CVC word (it ends in two consonants, “rk”).
- Spelling Error (A): “Darkker” is misspelled.
16 Key: (B) thicker than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Thick” is 1 syllable. Add “-er”.
- Spelling Error (A): “Thickker” is misspelled.
17 Key: (A) farther than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Far” is an irregular adjective. The comparative form is “farther” (or “further”).
- Common Mistake (B & C): “Farer” and “more far” do not exist.
18 Key: (B) more helpful than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Helpful” is a 2-syllable adjective that does not end in “-y”. For most 2-syllable adjectives without “-y”, we use “more”.
- Common Mistake (A): “Helpfuler” is invalid.
19 Key: (B) more polite than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Polite” is a 2-syllable adjective. We use “more polite”. (Note: “politer” is sometimes used by native speakers, but “more polite” is the standard, safe rule taught at the A2 level).
- Spelling Error (C): “That” is the wrong connector word; we must use “than”.
20 Key: (A) better than
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Good” -> “better”. This concludes the logical argument comparing the two overall offers.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- The Function in Business: When you are deciding between exactly two options (like Supplier A vs. Supplier B, or Product A vs. Product B), you must use Comparative Adjectives. It is the most logical way to weigh the pros and cons to make a final business decision.
- Always use the word than to connect the two subjects. (e.g., “Supplier A is cheaper than Supplier B.”)
- Forming Comparatives (The Rules):
- Short Adjectives (1 Syllable): Add -er. (cheap -> cheaper, fast -> faster).
- CVC Rule: If it ends in Consonant-Vowel-Consonant, double the last letter. (big -> bigger).
- Adjectives ending in “-y”: Drop the “y”, change it to “i”, and add -er. (friendly -> friendlier, easy -> easier).
- Long Adjectives (2+ Syllables): Put more before the adjective. Do not change the adjective itself. (expensive -> more expensive, reliable -> more reliable).
- The Irregulars: You must memorize these common business adjectives:
- Good -> better (e.g., a better price)
- Bad -> worse (e.g., worse customer service)
- Far -> farther / further (e.g., farther warehouse)
- The “Double Comparative” Trap: Never use “more” and “-er” at the same time.
- Wrong: “This deal is more better.”
- Right: “This deal is better.”