COMPARATIVE & SUPERLATIVE ADVERBS (A2 Grammar)

Adverbs describe HOW we do actions. Like adjectives, adverbs have comparative forms.

Quick tip: Short adverbs = -ER/-EST. -LY adverbs = MORE/MOST. Irregular: well/badly/far.

Short adverbs: add -ER / -EST

One-syllable adverbs add -er for comparative, -est for superlative.

• fast - faster - fastest
• hard - harder - hardest
• early - earlier - earliest
• He runs faster than me.

Long adverbs: MORE / MOST

Adverbs ending in -ly use more for comparative, most for superlative.

• quickly - more quickly - most quickly
• carefully - more carefully
• slowly - more slowly
• She speaks more clearly than him.

Irregular adverbs (memorize!)

Some adverbs have irregular comparative and superlative forms.

• well - better - best
• badly - worse - worst
• far - farther - farthest
• She sings better than me.

Common mistakes

• Not "She speaks more fast" — say "She speaks faster". Fast is short - use -ER.
• Not "I play gooder than before" — say "I play better than before". Well is irregular = better.

Practise it

Ends in -ly? = MORE/MOST. Short? = -ER/-EST. Check irregular forms!