71 Comparative adjectives

1 Look at the way we compare things: � long adjectives (two syllables or more):
ADJECTIVE CompARATIVE
famous more famous
difficult more difficult
careful more careful
expensive more expensive
� adjectives ending with -y:

happy happier
hungry hungrier
� irregular adjectives:
The Plaza Hotel is cheaper than the
Excelsior. The Excelsior Hotel is bigger good better
than the Plaza. The Excelsior is more bad worse
expensive than the Plaza. (For more information, see Appendix 4,
The Plaza Hotel is smaller than the page 245)
Excelsior.
3 To compare things, we use a comparative
2 Cheaper and more expensive are adjective + than:
comparative adjectives. We form them like Tom is richer than Paul.
this: Paris is more beautiful than
London. My new car is better than
� short adjectives (one syllable):
my old one.
ADJECTIVE compARATIV
old E
long older
nice longer
new
slow nicer
fat newer
hot slower
big fatter
hotter
Practice bigger

A Write the comparative form of these adjectives.

� cold colder 13 long longer
1 big bigger 14 hungry hungrier
2 careful More careful 15 nice nicer
3 expensiv More expensive 16 happy happier
e
4 good better 17 difficult More
difficult
5 fat fatter 18 old older
6 famous More famous 19 beautiful More
beautiful
7 new newer 20 friendly friendlier
8 modern modern 21 hot hotter
9 young younger 22 wonderful More
wonderful
1 cheap cheaper 23 bad worse
0
1 delicious More delicius 24 small smaller
1
1 rich richer 25 sad sadder

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Basic Press
 2

PAGE 154 • ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

Oxford Practice Grammar PHOTOCOPIABLE © Oxford University

Basic Press
B Write comparative sentences about the pictures using than and the
words in brackets ( ). Use the Present Simple.
� 1 2 3

4 5 6 7

� (be/tall) Tom is ttaller tthan Sam.

1 (be/cold) Alaska is colder than spain
2 (be/hungry) Steve is hungrier than jane
3 (be/small) Washungton is smalles than new york
4 (be/happy) Mary is happier than mike
5 (be/young) I is younger than my brother
6 (be/rich) Film stars is more rich than teachers
7 (be/friendly) Peter is friendlier than chris

C Look at the information about two boats, the Queen Anne and the King John.
BOATS LENGTH AREA TOP SPEED YEAR MADE PRICE
Queen 14 metres 40 metres2 35 knots 2005 £9,000
Anne
King John 9 metres 23 metres2 30 knots 1997 £3,500

Now put words from the box in the sentences.

King John (x2) bigge slower Is* Than*

r
Queen Anne longe expensiv Mor
(x2) r e e*
� The Queen Anne bigger than the King John.
is
1 The King John is smaller than the Queen Anne.
2 The Queen Anne is more modern than the King John.
3 The King John is older than the Queen Anne.
4 The king jhon is faster than the queen anne .
5 The Queen Anne is more expensive than the King John.
6 The King John is slower than the Queen Anne.
7 The king jhon is cheaper than the queen anne .
8 The Queen Anne is longer than the King John.
ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS • PAGE 155