This lesson looks at the sentence patterns that use comparative and superlative adjectives — not how the forms themselves are built. The -er / more / -est rules are covered separately; here the focus is on what sits around the adjective.
English uses several frames for comparison, and each frame carries a slightly different meaning. Knowing bigger than alone is not enough — a B1 speaker needs as … as, the bigger the better, much cheaper, by far the best, and a few other patterns that show up constantly.
Equality: *as + adjective + as*
To say that two things are equal on some quality, put the adjective between two uses of as.
The adjective stays in its base form — never as taller as or as more expensive as. The second as is followed by a noun, a pronoun, or a short clause.
You can soften or sharpen the comparison with a modifier before as:
- almost / nearly as … as — close to equal
- just as … as — exactly equal, with emphasis
- not quite as … as — slightly less
Inequality: *not as … as* and *less … than*
The negative form of the equal pattern is not as + adjective + as. It means the first thing has less of the quality than the second.
Not so … as means the same thing and is still correct, but it sounds more formal and appears mostly in writing.
A second way to say the same idea is less + adjective + than. It works best with longer adjectives.
With short, common adjectives (tall, old, cheap, fast, big), English strongly prefers not as … as over less. Not as tall as sounds natural; less tall than sounds stiff and is rarely used.
*Less* vs *fewer* — one line
Both words express a smaller amount: less goes with uncountable nouns (less time, less money), fewer with countable plurals (fewer people, fewer mistakes). This lesson is about adjectives, so the only thing to remember here is that less + adjective + than is the pattern used with any adjective, regardless of countability.
The + comparative, the + comparative
This pattern links two changes: as one thing increases, the other increases with it. Both halves use the followed by a comparative.
The structure is fixed: the + comparative in both halves, with a comma between them. The adjective can be short (the bigger) or long (the more expensive), and the second half often uses more even when the first uses -er.
Gradual change: comparative + and + comparative
To show that something keeps changing in one direction, repeat the comparative with and between the two copies.
Short adjectives double the -er form (colder and colder, older and older). Long adjectives use more and more before the base adjective (more and more difficult, more and more popular), not more expensiver and more expensiver.
Degree modifiers before comparatives
A plain comparative only tells you that one thing is more than another. To show how much more, English places a degree word directly before the comparative.
Big differences: much, far, a lot, way (informal), significantly.
Small differences: a bit, a little, slightly.
Emphasising the comparison: even.
Saying there is no difference: no.
These modifiers go before both short and long comparatives: much taller, much more expensive, a bit quieter, a bit more difficult. Do not use very with comparatives — very taller is wrong. Very belongs with the base adjective (very tall), not with the comparative.
Superlatives with *of* and *in*
A superlative picks out one item from a group. To name the group, English uses in for places and organizations, and of for numbered sets and time periods.
Use in with a location or container (in the world, in my class, in Europe). Use of with a group you can count or list (of the three, of all my friends, of the century).
*By far* with superlatives
To make a superlative stronger, put by far directly before the.
By far works with both short and long superlatives. Alternatives with a similar effect include easily (easily the best) and much (much the best, more formal).
Non-gradable adjectives
Some adjectives describe an extreme or an absolute state, not a quality that can vary in degree. These are called non-gradable or absolute adjectives, and in careful writing they do not take comparatives, superlatives, or degree words like very or more.
Common absolute adjectives: perfect, unique, impossible, dead, complete, full, empty, correct, identical.
Something is either impossible or it is not — there is no more impossible. A solution is either perfect or it is not — not very perfect. A plan is either unique or it is not — not the most unique.
Instead of intensifying these adjectives, English uses words that fit an absolute meaning: absolutely, completely, totally, almost, nearly.
In casual speech you will sometimes hear more perfect or very unique. They are common, but editors and careful writers treat them as mistakes.
Common mistakes
Equality patterns
Less vs not as
Degree modifiers
Gradual change and the + comparative
Superlatives with of / in
Non-gradable adjectives