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Structure and usage comparison sentences

A very common English grammar topic is the comparison sentences. So in today's article, PREP would like to introduce to Preppies the most comprehensive structure and forms of comparison sentences in English. Let's explore them!

I. Adjectives in comparison sentences
II. Adverbs in comparison sentences
III. Nouns in comparison sentences
IV. Other types of comparison sentences in English
V. Other special comparison sentences
VI. Exercises on comparison sentences
1. 1. Exercises
2. 2. Answer

I. Adjectives in comparison sentences

Let's explore with PREP the definition and distinguish comparison sentences adjectives as well as comparison sentence examples!

1. Structure of adjectives in comparison sentences

Adjective	Comparative form	Superlative form
1 syllable
long	Adj + is longer	the + Adj + -is the longest
Ending with -e
nice	Adj + -r nicer	Adj + -st the nicest
2 syllables
famous	more + Adj more famous	the most + Adj the most famous
Ending with -y
dirty	Drop the “y” and + -ier dirtier	Remove “y” and + -is the dirtiest
3 syllables
popular	more + Adj more popular	the most + Adj the most popular

2. Structure of comparison sentences with adjectives

Comparative sentence
Short adjectives	To be + short adjective + - is + than	John is taller than Mike.
Long adjective	To be + more + long adjective + than	This dress is more expensive than the one I bought last week.
Superlative sentence
Short adjectives	To be + the + short adjective + - est	John is the tallest student in the class.
Short adjectives	To be + the + most + long adjective	This garden is the most beautiful I have ever seen.

3. Some irregular adjectives in comparison sentences

Adjective	Comparative adjectives	Superlative adjectives
good	better	The best
bad	worse	The worst
much/ many	more	The most
far	farther further	The farthest The furthest
little	less	The least
few	fewer	The fewest

II. Adverbs in comparison sentences

Above, we have explored adjectives in comparison sentences, and right below let's explore with PREP about adverbs in comparison sentences as well as comparisons examples!

1. Structure of adverbs in comparison sentences

Adverb	Comparative	Superlative
Short adverbs
	Adv + are	the + Adv + -est
fast	faster	fastest
Long adverbs
	more + Adv	the + most + Adv + (of)
intelligently	more intelligently	the most intelligently

Note:

Adverbs ending in "-ly": Similar to the comparative form of long adjectives - add "more" to create the comparative, and "the most" to create the superlative.
Adverbs not ending in "-ly": Similar to the comparative form of short adjectives - add "-er" to create the comparative, and "-est" to create the superlative.

2. Structure of comparison sentences with adverbs

Comparative sentence
Short adverbs	To be + short adverb - er + than	He ran faster than anyone else in the race.
Long adverbs	To be + more + long adverb + than	She completed the task more quickly than I did.
Superlative sentence
Short adverbs	To be + the + short adverb - est	She finished the assignment the fastest in the class.
Short adverbs	To be + the + most + long adverb	He climbed the mountain the most steadily among the group.

3. Some irregular adverbs in comparison sentences

Adverb	Comparative form	Superlative form
Well	Better	The best
Badly	Worse	The worst
Far	Farther/ further	The farthest/ The furthest
Much/many	More	The most
Little	Less	The least

III. Nouns in comparison sentences

Let's explore with PREP how nouns are used in comparison sentences!

Nouns in comparatives	S + V + more/ fewer/ less + N(s) + than + O	She has more apples than I do.
Nouns in superlatives	S + V + the most / the fewest/ the least + N(s)	She has the most apples in the whole class.

IV. Other types of comparison sentences in English

Let's explore the other types of comparison sentences in English!

Comparison sentences	Comparatives	Superlatives	Equal comparison
Definition	Compare two people/things/objects/events...	Compare 3 or more people/things/objects/events	Compare things and events with equal properties, degrees, and attributes.
Structure	With short adjectives/adverbs: S + V + adj/adv-er + than + Object/ Noun/ Pronoun	With adjectives and short adverbs: S + V + the + adj/adv-est + than + Object/ Noun/ Pronoun	With adjectives/adverbs: S + V + so/as + adj/adv + as + Object/ Noun/ Pronoun
	With long adjectives and adverbs: S + V + more + adj/adv + than + Object/ Noun/ Pronoun	With long adjectives and adverbs: S + V + the most + adj/adv + than + Object/ Noun/ Pronoun
	With nouns: S + V + more/ fewer/ less + N(s) + than + O	With nouns: S + V + the most / the fewest/ the least + N(s)	With nouns: S + V + so/as + many/ much/ little/ few + Noun + as + Noun/ Pronoun
Example	My exercise is easier than yours. He is more intelligent than her.	Jack is the tallest student among the three. Jack is the most outstanding student in our class.	Emi sings as beautifully as Jack. Jack has as many books as his brother.

V. Other special comparison sentences

In addition to the 5 example of comparison sentences mentioned above, below PREP would like to share with you some other special comparison sentences, take a look!

Double comparative form	Short adjectives: S + V + adj + er + and + adj + er	The weather is getting colder and colder.
Double comparative form	Long adjective: S + V + more and more + adj	She is becoming more and more beautiful.
Double comparative form: “The more… the more”	The + comparative + S + V + the + comparative + S + V	The harder you work, the more you achieve.
Comparison form with “The same + (N) + as”:	S + tobe + the same + N + as + O	She has the same dress as mine.

VI. Exercises on comparison sentences

To better understand the usage of comparative, superlative, and equal comparison sentences, let's complete the exercises below with PREP!

1. Exercises

Exercise 1: Complete the comparative sentence

Emi runs (fast) her brother.
This book is (interesting) the one I read last week.
Jack’s house is (large) mine.
John studies (hard) Sarah.
The new restaurant is (expensive) the old one.

Exercise 2: Complete the superlative sentences

Anna is (fast) runner in the team.
This is (interesting) movie I've ever seen.
Everest is (high) mountain in the world.
John is a (smart) student in the class.
That was (delicious) meal I've ever had.

Exercise 3: Complete the comparison sentences

My car is (fast) yours.
This book is (interesting) the one I read last month.
Sarah's house is (big) Tom's.
John works (hard) his father.
Johnson doesn’t run (fast) me.

2. Answer

Exercise 1	Exercise 2	Exercise 3
faster than more interesting than is larger than harder than more expensive than	the fastest the most interesting the highest the smartest the most delicious	as fast as as interesting as as big as as hard as as fast as

The article above covers all the grammatical knowledge about comparison sentences in English. Hopefully, this grammatical knowledge will be useful for Preppies. Remember to practice the grammar on comparison sentences regularly, accompanied by doing lots of exercises, so that you can master this grammar topic!

Master Tu Pham

Founder/CEO at Prep

Founder of Prep Smart Test Preparation Platform. With over 10 years of experience in teaching and test preparation, Mr. Tú has helped thousands of students achieve high scores in the IELTS exam. In addition, Mr. Tú Phạm is also a consulting expert in British Council programs and a speaker at many leading educational events, programs, and conferences.