Adjectives are describing words. Adjectives describe – or modify – nouns. Sometimes, an adjective is used to compare two nouns. We call that a comparative adjective.
John has a big dog. The adjective big describes – or modifies – the noun dog.
Bobby has a bigger dog. The adjective bigger modifies Bobby’s dog – comparing it to John’s dog.
Adjectives usually add the letters -er when becoming comparative. Here are more examples:
The orchestra music is loud. The band music is louder.
Jack has a small apartment. My apartment is smaller.
Jeffrey drives an old car. Susan has an older car.
When an adjective ends in the letter -e, we add only an -r to the end to make it comparative.
This is a safe neighborhood. I don’t think you could find a safer place to live.
This white towel is looking dingy. I used bleach to make the towel whiter.
A comparative adjective compares two nouns. Add -er or -r to an adjective when making it comparative.
▶Now you try it. Find the adjective in the first sentence. Then make the adjective comparative and insert it into the blank in the second sentence. I climbed a tall mountain last summer. My friend climbed a ___ mountain. Did you figure out the correct comparative adjective? Good for you!