Retour au programme
Comparatives compare two things. Superlatives compare one thing to all others.
🔹 Comparatif de supériorité (more... than / -er than):
• Short adjectives (1-2 syllabes) → adjective + -ER + than
tall → taller than | fast → faster than | big → bigger than
• Long adjectives (3+ syllabes) → more + adjective + than
beautiful → more beautiful than | intelligent → more intelligent than
🔹 Comparatif d'égalité : as + adjective + as
• He is as tall as his brother. (aussi grand que)
• This book is not as expensive as that one.
🔹 Superlatif (the + adjective + -est / the most + adjective):
• Short adjectives → the + adjective + -EST
tall → the tallest | fast → the fastest | big → the biggest
• Long adjectives → the most + adjective
beautiful → the most beautiful | intelligent → the most intelligent
🔹 Irréguliers à mémoriser:
• good → better than → the best
• bad → worse than → the worst
• far → farther than → the farthest
• little → less than → the least
• much/many → more than → the most
🔹 Spelling rules:
• Adjective ending in -e → add -r/-st: nice → nicer / nicest
• Short vowel + consonant → double: big → bigger / biggest
• Ending in -y → change to -i: happy → happier / happiest
📝 Examples:
• The Nile is longer than the Senegal River.
• Dakar is more crowded than Saint-Louis.
• Aminata is as clever as her sister.
• Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
• Thiéboudienne is the most popular dish in Senegal.
• He is the best student in the class.
• This is the worst film I have ever seen.
💡 Quick guide:
| Adjective | Comparative | Superlative |
|-----------|-------------|-------------|
| tall | taller than | the tallest |
| beautiful | more beautiful than | the most beautiful |
| good | better than | the best |
| bad | worse than | the worst |
Make comparative sentences: big (elephant / cat) and intelligent (dolphin / fish)
Correction
An elephant is bigger than a cat. A dolphin is more intelligent than a fish.
Use the superlative: Which is the longest river in the world? (the Nile)
Correction
The Nile is the longest river in the world.
Translate: Dakar est plus grande que Ziguinchor mais moins grande que Lagos.
Correction
Dakar is bigger than Ziguinchor but smaller than Lagos.
Complete with better / worse / the best / the worst: Football is ___ than basketball for me. But swimming is ___ sport of all.
Correction
Football is better than basketball for me. But swimming is the best sport of all.
Write 4 sentences comparing two African countries (size, population, wealth, beauty).
Correction
Example: Nigeria is bigger than Senegal. Senegal is more peaceful than some other countries. Nigeria has a larger population. Senegal has the most beautiful beaches in West Africa.