Grammar: A2 - ✨ Grammar Essentials: 🧩 Parts of Speech - Expanding - Lesson 10: Comparative Adjectives (regular: bigger, more interesting)

✨ Lesson 10: Comparative Adjectives (bigger, more interesting)

We know that adjectives describe nouns (e.g., "a tall building"). But what if we want to compare¹ two things? We use comparative² adjectives.

Comparative adjectives are used to show how two things are different. We almost always use the word than³ in these sentences.

Forming Comparative Adjectives

The rule for forming a comparative adjective depends on the number of syllables⁴ in the adjective.

Rule 1: For short (one-syllable) adjectives, add '-er'.

• old → older (Angkor Wat is older than Angkor Thom.)
• tall → taller (That building is taller than my guesthouse.)
• hot → hotter (April is hotter than January.)

Spelling Tip: If an adjective ends in Consonant-Vowel-Consonant (like h-o-t or b-i-g), we double the last consonant: hotter, bigger.

Rule 2: For long (2+ syllable) adjectives, use 'more'.
We do NOT add '-er' to long adjectives. We put the word more before them.

• beautiful → more beautiful (The sunrise is more beautiful than the sunset.)
• interesting → more interesting (This book is more interesting than that one.)
• expensive → more expensive (The hotels in the city center are more expensive.)

Special Rule: Two-syllable adjectives ending in '-y'
For these, we change the 'y' to 'i' and add '-er'.

• busy → busier (Pub Street is busier at night than in the day.)
• happy → happier (I am happier on holiday.)

🧠 Practice Quiz: What is the Comparative Form?

Write the correct comparative form for each adjective.

1. fast → ________
   → faster
2. difficult → ________
   → more difficult
3. heavy → ________
   → heavier
4. modern → ________
   → more modern
5. big → ________
   → bigger

📝 Homework: Make Comparisons

Write three sentences comparing two things you know. Use a different comparative adjective in each sentence.

Example: A car is faster than a bicycle. My phone is newer than my father's phone.

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1: ___________________________________

2: ___________________________________

3: ___________________________________

Vocabulary Glossary

1. Compare: (Verb) - ប្រៀបធៀប (prĭəp'thĭəp) - To look at two or more things to see how they are similar or different. ↩
2. Comparative: (Adjective) - ប្រៀបធៀប (prĭəp'thĭəp) - Expressing a higher degree of a quality. ↩
3. Than: (Conjunction) - ជាង (chieng) - A word used to introduce the second part of a comparison. ↩
4. Syllable: (Noun) - ព្យាង្គ (pyeang) - A single unit of speech or a part of a word. 'Hot' has one syllable. 'Beautiful' (beau-ti-ful) has three syllables. ↩