Compare Things: English Comparatives and Superlatives (Long Adjectives) - A1 Grammar — A1 English grammar lesson by Langcom

Compare Things: English Comparatives and Superlatives (Long Adjectives) – A1 Grammar

Raúl Maguiña

Fundador de Langcom | Examinador de Cambridge y del SIELE

septiembre 22, 2026

A1✏️ Gramática⏱️ 4 minutos de lectura📅 Actualizado en septiembre de 2026
To compare two things using long adjectives in English, we use more before the adjective. To compare three or more things and say which is the top one, we use the most before the adjective. This grammar helps you describe differences and similarities clearly. For example, if you want to say one movie is better than another, and the adjective is interesting (a long adjective), you say Movie A is more interesting than Movie B. If it’s the best movie of all, you say Movie C is the most interesting movie. This rule applies to adjectives like beautiful, expensive, difficult, y important. These are words with two or more syllables. It’s important to remember that we never add -er o -est to these longer words. Using more y the most makes your English sound natural and correct when comparing.

What Are Comparatives and Superlatives?

When we talk about things, we often want to compare them. Maybe one thing is bigger, or one is more beautiful.

  • Comparatives help us compare two things.
  • Superlatives help us compare three or more things. They show which thing is the ‘most’ or ‘least’ of a group.

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How Do We Compare Two Things with Long Adjectives?

For long adjectives, we use the word more to compare two things.

  • The rule is: more + adjective + than.
  • Utilizamos than after the adjective to show what we are comparing it to.

For example, if you think a book is interesting, and another book is even more so, you can say: This book is more interesting than that book.

How Do We Compare Three or More Things with Long Adjectives?

When we compare three or more things and want to say which one is number one (the best, the biggest, etc.), we use the word the most.

  • The rule is: the most + adjective.
  • We always use the antes de most.

For example, if you think a movie is exciting, and it's the best of all the movies, you can say: It is the most exciting movie.

What Is a Long Adjective?

In English, adjectives can be 'short' or 'long'. Long adjectives usually have two or more syllables (parts of a word).

  • Examples of long adjectives are: beautiful (beau-ti-ful), expensive (ex-pen-sive), difficult (dif-fi-cult), important (im-por-tant).
  • We do not add -er o -est to these words. We use more y the most instead.
Long Adjectives: Comparative and Superlative Forms
Adjetivo Comparative (2 things) Superlative (3+ things)
important more important the most important
beautiful more beautiful the most beautiful
difficult more difficult the most difficult
expensive more expensive the most expensive
interesting more interesting the most interesting

Ejemplos

  • Learning English is more important than watching TV.
  • This car is more expensive than that bicycle.
  • The blue dress is more beautiful than the red skirt.
  • Mount Everest is the most famous mountain in the world.
  • That exam was the most difficult test of the year.
  • She is the most intelligent student in the class.

Práctica

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Errores habituales de los hispanohablantes

Common Mistakes with Long Adjectives

Many Spanish speakers make these common mistakes:

  • Añadir -er o -est to long adjectives:
    INCORRECT: This book is interestinger.
    CORRECT: This book is more interesting.
  • Forgetting the antes de most for superlatives:
    INCORRECT: It was most difficult day.
    CORRECT: It was the most difficult day.
  • Uso de more o most with short adjectives: (This lesson is about long adjectives, but be careful!)
    INCORRECT: My brother is more tall.
    CORRECT: My brother is taller.

Preguntas más frecuentes

What is a long adjective?

A long adjective is a word that describes a noun and usually has two or more syllables (parts). For example, beautiful, important, y expensive are long adjectives.

Can I say 'expensiver' or 'beautifulest'?

No, you cannot say expensiver o beautifulest. For long adjectives, we always use more for comparatives and the most for superlatives. So, it's more expensive y the most beautiful.

When do I use 'more' and when 'the most'?

Se utiliza more when you compare two things (e.g., This car is more comfortable than that one.). You use the most when you compare three or more things and want to show which one is number one in a group (e.g., This is the most comfortable car in the shop.).

Sobre el autor: Raúl Maguiña

Raúl Maguiña es el director de la Asociación Educativa Langcom, un centro autorizado de preparación para el examen Cambridge English en tu país. Con más de una década de experiencia en la enseñanza de idiomas y la certificación internacional, ha ayudado a miles de estudiantes, profesores e instituciones educativas de 25 países a conseguir las certificaciones de inglés de Cambridge, IELTS, TOEFL y Michigan.

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