What are comparatives and superlatives?
When Hermeus flew its Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 past the sound barrier, every report wanted to know one thing: was it faster than anything a private company had flown before? To answer questions like that in English, we reach for comparatives and superlatives.
A comparative compares two things (the Mk 2.2 will be faster than the Mk 2.1). A superlative picks out one from a whole group (hypersonic flight is the company’s most ambitious goal).
How we form them
The pattern depends on the length of the adjective:
- Short adjectives add -er / -est: fast → faster → the fastest; big → bigger → the biggest.
- Longer adjectives use more / most: expensive → more expensive → the most expensive.
- A few are irregular: good → better → the best; far → farther → the farthest.
- Use as … as when two things are equal: the Quarterhorse is about as big as an F-16.
We often put a measurement in front of a comparative to say how much faster or bigger something is: Mach 1.21 is 21% faster than the speed of sound, and a hypersonic aircraft flies five times faster than a Mach 1 jet.
Try these
Turn each note into one sentence using the structure in brackets. Cover the answers, write your own version, then check.
- The Mk 2.1 reached Mach 1.21. The Mk 2.2 will go even quicker. (comparative: fast)
- The Quarterhorse and an F-16 are almost the same size. (as … as)
- Of all the company’s plans, hypersonic flight is the boldest. (superlative: ambitious)
- No other private firm reached supersonic speed so quickly. (comparative: fast)
- The third test flight went well — even better than the two before it. (superlative: good)
- A future airliner could cross the Atlantic in far less time than today’s jets. (comparative: quick)
Want to spot the same structures in a longer read? Notice how often comparatives appear when engineers describe a bigger, longer-range jet like the Boeing 777X.