Using Comparative Adjectives

Download this explanation in PDF here.
Read about how to make the comparative here.

Comparative structures: things or people that are the same

First, we can use 'as ... as' with a normal adjective (not a comparative) to say two things are the same:

John is as tall as Luke (= they are the same height).
The red shirt is as expensive as the blue shirt (= they are the same price).

We can use 'not as ... as' to say that two things are not the same.

Lucy is not as tall as Helena (= Helena is taller than Lucy).
Paris is not as big as London (= London is bigger than Paris).

Comparative Structures: one thing or person is more than another thing or person

We can say that something is more than another thing by using a comparative adjective with 'than'.

France is bigger than Scotland.
Luke is taller than Lucy.
Your book is more interesting than my book.

We can make the comparison stronger by using 'far' or 'much' or 'a lot' before the adjective. We can make it less strong by using 'a little' or 'a bit'.

Canada is far bigger than Scotland.
Your book is much more interesting than my book.
Amanda is a lot younger than Julie.
This exercise is a little more difficult than that exercise.

We can say that one thing or person is less than another thing by using 'less ... than':

Scotland is less big than France.
Lucy is less tall than Luke.
My book is less interesting than your book.

To show something is changing, we can use 'comparative and comparative' or 'more and more adjective'.

That child is getting taller and taller.
The climate is getting hotter and hotter.
This city is becoming more and more crowded.

Read about how to use the superlative here.

USING COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES

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