Unit 41: Comparative and Superlative Adjectives Review
Can-do Statement: I can correctly use comparative and superlative adjectives to compare people, things, and feelings.
1. Vocabulary Review
Study the target adjectives, their forms, meanings, and contextual usage below:
| Word & POS | Definition & Translation | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| short adjective |
having little length or height thấp, ngắn |
“Janelle is the shorter of the two girls.” |
| curly adjective |
having a twisted or waved shape xoăn |
“Fred has the curliest hair in the whole class.” |
| lonely adjective |
unhappy because you are not with other people cô đơn |
“She felt lonelier at camp than she did at home.” |
| cute adjective |
attractive in a pretty or endearing way dễ thương |
“This stationery has more cute designs than the old one.” |
| sleepy adjective |
needing or ready for sleep buồn ngủ |
“I was very sleepy after the long car trip.” |
| bad adjective |
of poor quality or not pleasant tệ, xấu |
“Eating too much candy is a bad habit.” |
| worse adjective |
more unpleasant or of lower quality than something else tệ hơn |
“Matthew felt worse than ever after being sick for two days.” |
| good adjective |
of a high standard or quality tốt, giỏi |
“It is a good idea to wear a helmet when you ride a bike.” |
| big adjective |
large in size or amount to lớn |
“Our new house is much bigger than our old apartment.” |
2. Grammar Structures
Grammar Point 1: Comparative Adjectives
Explanation: Use comparative adjectives to compare two people, places, or things.
Structure: Adjective + -er + than (Short adjectives: bigger than, shorter than, lonelier than)More + Adjective + than (Long/some multi-syllable adjectives: more cute designs)
Key Examples:
- Janelle is shorter than her sister.
- Matthew felt worse than he did yesterday. (Irregular: bad → worse)
- This puppy is more active than the other one.
Grammar Point 2: Superlative Adjectives
Explanation: Use superlative adjectives to compare three or more people, places, or things to show which has the most of a quality.
Structure: The + Adjective + -est (Short adjectives: the biggest, the curliest, the shortest)The most + Adjective (Long adjectives: the most beautiful)
Key Examples:
- Fred has the curliest hair in the family.
- This is the best book I have ever read. (Irregular: good → better → the best)
- The blue whale is the biggest animal in the world. (Note: double the final consonant for big → biggest)
3. Practice Exercises
Exercise 1: Vocabulary Matching (Nối Từ vựng với Định nghĩa thích hợp)
Match the target adjectives on the left (1-7) with their corresponding English definitions and Vietnamese translations on the right (A-G).
Adjectives:
Definitions & Translations:
1. curly
A. Large in size or amount. (to lớn)
2. lonely
B. Unhappy because you are not with other people. (cô đơn)
3. cute
C. Of poor quality or not pleasant. (tệ, xấu)
4. sleepy
D. Having a twisted or waved shape. (xoăn)
5. bad
E. Needing or ready for sleep. (buồn ngủ)
6. big
F. Attractive in a pretty or endearing way. (dễ thương)
7. short
G. Having little length or height. (thấp, ngắn)
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
1 – D: curly means having a twisted or waved shape (xoăn).
2 – B: lonely means unhappy because you are not with other people (cô đơn).
3 – F: cute means attractive in a pretty or endearing way (dễ thương).
4 – E: sleepy means needing or ready for sleep (buồn ngủ).
5 – C: bad means of poor quality or not pleasant (tệ, xấu).
6 – A: big means large in size or amount (to lớn).
7 – G: short means having little length or height (thấp, ngắn).
Exercise 2: Gap Fill (Điền vào chỗ trống)
Complete each sentence with the correct comparative or superlative form of the adjective provided in brackets.
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1. Yesterday was bad, but today feels even than yesterday. (bad)
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2. Out of all the students in our class, Clara has the hair. (curly)
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3. This kitten is much than the one we saw online. (cute)
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4. I am always the person in my family after 10 PM. (sleepy)
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5. My new bedroom is significantly than my old one. (big)
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6. He felt when his best friend moved away away to another city. (lonely)
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7. Janelle is the girl on the basketball team. (short)
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
1. worse: “Than” specifies a comparison between two days. “Bad” has an irregular comparative form: worse. (Tệ hơn)
2. curliest: “Out of all the students” implies a superlative comparison across 3+ individuals. Drop -y and add -iest. (Xoăn nhất)
3. cuter: “Than” marks a comparative sentence. Add -r to adjectives ending in -e. (Dễ thương hơn)
4. sleepiest: “In my family” sets a superlative group context. Drop -y and add -iest. (Buồn ngủ nhất)
5. bigger: Comparison between two rooms. Single vowel + consonant requires doubling the last consonant (g) before adding -er. (To lớn hơn)
6. lonelier: Conveys a heightened comparative emotional state compared to before. Change -y to -ier. (Cô đơn hơn)
7. shortest: Defined by “the” and the structural team context, requiring a superlative form. (Thấp/Ngắn nhất)
Exercise 3: Multiple Choice (Trắc nghiệm)
Choose the correct grammatical option to complete each sentence properly.
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1. This textbook is ________ than the one we used last term.
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2. David is the ________ boy in the whole preschool group.
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3. The weather today is much ________ than it was last week.
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4. Tokyo is one of the ________ cities in Asia.
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5. I felt ________ on my birthday because no one called me.
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6. My brother’s hair is ________ than mine.
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7. That was the ________ movie I have ever watched.
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
1. B: “Better” is the correct irregular comparative form of “good” used before “than”. (Tốt hơn)
2. A: “The” preceding the blank and “in the whole group” calls for the superlative “cutest”. (Dễ thương nhất)
3. B: “Worse” is the correct comparative form for “bad”. (Tệ hơn)
4. B: “One of the…” structures require a superlative adjective (“biggest”). Remember to double the ‘g’. (Lớn nhất)
5. A: “Lonelier” fits the context here showing a comparative emotional drop. (Cô đơn hơn)
6. B: “Curlier” is the standard comparative form for two-syllable adjectives ending in -y. (Xoăn hơn)
7. C: “The worst” is the absolute superlative form of the irregular adjective “bad”. (Tệ nhất)
Exercise 4: True or False (Đúng hay Sai)
Read the sentences below. Write T if the sentence is grammatically correct, and F if it is incorrect.
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_____ 1. The blue whale is the most big animal in the world.
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_____ 2. Sarah’s hair is curlier than her mother’s hair.
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_____ 3. He feels more worse than he did yesterday morning.
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_____ 4. This is a very good book, but the next volume is even better.
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_____ 5. My sister is shortter than me, so she wears high heels.
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_____ 6. I am the sleepiest student during the morning lecture.
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_____ 7. She felt more lonely when everyone left the room.
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
1. F: Incorrect. “Big” is a short adjective; its superlative form is the biggest, not “the most big”.
2. T: Correct. “Curly” changes the -y to -ier to formulate a standard comparison.
3. F: Incorrect. Double comparatives like “more worse” are illegal. Use only worse.
4. T: Correct. “Better” is used cleanly to point to an implicit comparative standard.
5. F: Incorrect. Spelling error: “short” does not double the ‘t’ because it has two trailing consonants. It should be shorter.
6. T: Correct. Uses “the sleepiest” to express a supreme condition inside a group setting.
7. F: Incorrect. “Lonely” is a two-syllable adjective ending in -y, so its comparative is lonelier.
Exercise 5: Sentence Reordering (Sắp xếp lại câu)
Rearrange the words to form grammatically correct sentences containing comparative or superlative adjectives.
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1. than Janelle is sister shorter her? __________________________________________________________________
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2. hair the Fred curliest has class in? __________________________________________________________________
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3. apartment house bigger our is than old? __________________________________________________________________
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4. ever I best the is read book have this? __________________________________________________________________
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5. felt at home she lonelier camp than? __________________________________________________________________
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6. designs cute this has stationery more than old one? __________________________________________________________________
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7. long sleepy was trip after very I the? __________________________________________________________________
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
1: “Janelle is shorter than her sister.” (Janelle thì thấp hơn chị/em gái cô ấy.)
2: “Fred has the curliest hair in class.” (Fred có mái tóc xoăn nhất trong lớp.)
3: “Our house is bigger than old apartment.” or “Our old apartment is bigger than house.” -> Correct structural context: “Our house is bigger than our old apartment.” (Ngôi nhà mới của chúng tôi to hơn căn hộ cũ.)
4: “This is the best book I have ever read.” (Đây là cuốn sách hay nhất tôi từng đọc.)
5: “She felt lonelier at camp than at home.” (Cô ấy cảm thấy cô đơn ở trại hè hơn ở nhà.)
6: “This stationery has more cute designs than the old one.” (Đồ dùng văn phòng phẩm này có nhiều thiết kế dễ thương hơn cái cũ.)
7: “I was very sleepy after the long trip.” (Tôi đã rất buồn ngủ sau chuyến đi dài.)
Exercise 6: Grammar Selection (Lựa chọn Cấu trúc Ngữ pháp)
Circle or select the option that correctly satisfies the context rules for comparison structures.
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1. My grade on the math exam was [ badder / worse ] than my result in history.
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2. Mount Everest is the [ highest / most high ] mountain above sea level.
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3. This teddy bear is [ cuter / more cute ] than the plastic doll.
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4. Spending a quiet evening alone made him feel [ lonelier / more lonely ].
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5. New York has a [ bigger / more big ] population than Boston.
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6. He is the [ shortest / most short ] boy among his siblings.
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7. After eating lunch, the baby became very [ sleepier / sleepy ].
? Click to see Answer Key & Explanation (Đáp án & Giải thích)
1. worse: “Bad” turns into “worse” for regular comparative environments. (Tệ hơn)
2. highest: Short adjective “high” takes “-est” natively to form the superlative. (Cao nhất)
3. cuter: “Cute” is a single-syllable word ending in e; add -r. (Dễ thương hơn)
4. lonelier: Adjectives ending in -y change to -ier for comparatives. (Cô đơn hơn)
5. bigger: Correct spelling requires doubling the final consonant. (Lớn hơn)
6. shortest: Superlative form for the short adjective “short”. (Thấp nhất)
7. sleepy: No comparison is established in this specific sentence; the base descriptor adjective is required. (Buồn ngủ)
