UNIT 4 LESSON 06: THE BEST SUPERLATIVES AND COMPARISONS

Let’s talk about superlatives and comparisons!🔄

🥇 COMPARATIVE OR SUPERLATIVE?

You already know comparatives.

We use a comparative when we compare two people or things:

Tom is taller than Jack.

Football is more exciting than golf.

But when we compare three or more, we can use a superlative:

Tom is the tallest person in the group.

Football is the most exciting sport for me.

⭐ Remember!

2 things → COMPARATIVE

Tom is taller than Jack.

3 or more → SUPERLATIVE

Tom is the tallest of the three.

📏 SHORT ADJECTIVES → -EST

With many short adjectives, we add -est.

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative
tall	taller	the tallest
short	shorter	the shortest
fast	faster	the fastest
slow	slower	the slowest
strong	stronger	the strongest
young	younger	the youngest
old	older	the oldest
small	smaller	the smallest
big	bigger	the biggest

💬 Examples

Tom is taller than Jack.

Tom is the tallest in his class.

A cheetah is faster than a horse.

A cheetah is one of the fastest animals in the world.

✏️ REMEMBER THE SPELLING!

The spelling rules are similar to the ones you learned with comparatives.

Adjectives ending in -e

Add -st:

nice → nicer → the nicest

large → larger → the largest

Short adjectives ending in consonant + vowel + consonant

Double the final consonant:

big → bigger → the biggest

hot → hotter → the hottest

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🌟 LONGER ADJECTIVES → THE MOST

With many longer adjectives, we use:

THE MOST + ADJECTIVE

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative
exciting	more exciting	the most exciting
interesting	more interesting	the most interesting
comfortable	more comfortable	the most comfortable
beautiful	more beautiful	the most beautiful
difficult	more difficult	the most difficult

💬 Examples

Basketball is more exciting than golf.

Football is the most exciting sport for me.

This is the most comfortable chair in the room.

🏆 IRREGULAR FORMS

Some very common adjectives have special forms.

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative
good	better	the best
bad	worse	the worst

⭐ Examples

This book is better than that one.

This is the best book in the library.

Today is worse than yesterday.

That was the worst day of my holiday.

⚖️ COMPARATIVE OR SUPERLATIVE?

Let’s compare the two forms.

👥 TWO PEOPLE

Emma is taller than Lucy.

We are comparing two people.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 THREE PEOPLE

Emma is the tallest of the three.

We are comparing three people.

🏀 SPORTS

Basketball is more exciting than golf.

Two sports → comparative

Basketball is the most exciting sport in the group.

Three or more sports → superlative

🎯 CHOOSE THE RIGHT FORM

Complete the sentences.

1. Jack is ______ than Tom.
   tall / taller / the tallest
2. Emma is ______ girl in the group.
   tall / taller / the tallest
3. A cheetah is ______ than a horse.
   fast / faster / the fastest
4. A cheetah is one of ______ animals in the world.
   fast / faster / the fastest
5. This game is ______ than the other game.
   more exciting / the most exciting
6. This is ______ game of the three.
   more exciting / the most exciting
7. This is ______ book I’ve got.
   better / the best

✅ Answers

1. taller
2. the tallest
3. faster
4. the fastest
5. more exciting
6. the most exciting
7. the best

🏅 WHO IS THE BEST?

Meet three young athletes.

⚽ Alex

Age: 12
Height: 150 cm
Sport: football
Speed: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🏀 Ben

Age: 13
Height: 165 cm
Sport: basketball
Speed: ⭐⭐⭐

🏃 Charlie

Age: 12
Height: 155 cm
Sport: running
Speed: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Now compare them:

Ben is taller than Alex.

Charlie is faster than Ben.

Ben is the tallest of the three.

Charlie is the fastest of the three.

🔎 Let’s check!

1. Who is taller, Alex or Ben?
2. Who is faster, Ben or Charlie?
3. Who is the tallest?
4. Who is the fastest?
5. Who is older, Alex or Charlie?
6. Who is the youngest?

🏆 THE BEST SPORT

Imagine that you have three sports:

⚽ football
🏀 basketball
🏊 swimming

Choose adjectives to compare them:

fast · exciting · difficult · relaxing · fun · interesting

For example:

Football is faster than swimming.

Swimming is more relaxing than football.

Basketball is the most exciting sport for me.

💬 Your turn!

Write:

__________ is faster than __________.

__________ is more exciting than __________.

__________ is the most __________ sport.

👑 THE BEST OF THE BEST!

Now think about things you know.

🏃 The fastest

What is the fastest animal you know?

The cheetah is one of the fastest animals in the world.

🏢 The biggest

What is the biggest building you know?

__________ is the biggest __________.

🌟 The most interesting

What is the most interesting sport, book or hobby for you?

__________ is the most interesting __________ for me.

❤️ The best

What is the best sport for you?

__________ is the best sport for me.

✏️ MY TOP THREE

Choose three things from the same group.

For example:

three sports

three animals

three school subjects

three hobbies

Now compare them.

__________ is __________ than __________.

__________ is __________ than __________.

__________ is the __________ of the three.

🏆 A2 CHALLENGE

Write 8–10 sentences comparing three people, sports or things.

Try to use:

• at least three comparatives.
• at least three superlatives.
• than.
• the best or the worst.
• the most + adjective.

For example:

I like football, basketball and swimming. Football is more exciting than swimming. Basketball is faster than swimming. Swimming is more relaxing than football. Basketball is the fastest sport for me. Swimming is the most relaxing. Football is the most exciting. For me, basketball is the best sport because it is fun!

🎮 GAMES — SUPERLATIVES & COMPARATIVES

Practise comparing and ranking people and things!

Fichas descargables

📝 Resumen

En esta lección de inglés A2 aprenderás a utilizar superlatives para comparar tres o más personas, cosas o actividades y completarás el trabajo realizado con los comparatives en la lección anterior. Practicarás formas como the tallest, the fastest, the most exciting, the best y the worst, además de repasar estructuras comparativas con -er, more y than. Como tarea final, compararás y clasificarás tres elementos para decidir cuál es the best.