00 / Adjectives & Adverbs
Comparative and superlative adverbs
Comparative and superlative adverbs are used to compare how actions are performed. They show if an action is done to a higher degree or the highest degree among a group.
A2Elementary
01 / Overview
Adverbs describe how someone does something. Use comparative adverbs to compare two people or things. Use superlative adverbs to compare one person or thing against a whole group.
02 / Form
more + adverb / the most + adverb
For most adverbs ending in -ly, use more for comparatives and the most for superlatives. Short adverbs that do not end in -ly usually take -er and -est endings.
03 / Regular and Irregular Forms
Note that early is an exception; it becomes earlier and the earliest despite ending in -ly.
| Adverb | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| quickly | more quickly | the most quickly |
| fast | faster | the fastest |
| well | better | the best |
| badly | worse | the worst |
04 / Examples
05 / Common mistakes
He works more hard than me.
He works harder than me.
Hard is a short adverb and does not use 'more'.
She sings the most well.
She sings the best.
Well is irregular and changes to 'the best' in the superlative form.
06 / Practice
Complete the sentence: Sarah finished her homework ______ (quickly) than Tom.
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Answer: more quickly
Why: For adverbs ending in -ly, use 'more' to form the comparative.
Complete the sentence: Of all the players, David kicked the ball ______ (far).
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Answer: the farthest
Why: Use the superlative form 'the farthest' (or 'the furthest') when comparing one person to a whole group.
Complete the sentence: I play piano ______ (well) now than I did last year.
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Answer: better
Why: 'Well' is an irregular adverb; its comparative form is 'better'.