Page 99 - Improve_Your_Written_English [Marion_Field]

I M PR OV IN G Y OUR S TY LE / 85

happy happier happiest
slow slower slowest
tall taller tallest

Adrian is the biggest of all the boys.

Mary is the tallest of the four girls.

Some words are so constructed that to add the suffix ‘-er’ or
‘- est’ would produce clumsy words. In this case ‘more’ and
‘most’ are put before the adjective instead:

beautiful more beautiful most beautiful
excitable more excitable most excitable
intelligent more intelligent most intelligent
irritable more irritable most irritable

Joanne was the most beautiful girl Frank had ever seen.
Gail was the most intelligent student in the class.

‘More’ and ‘most’ cannot be used if ‘-er’ or ‘-est’ have
been used.

‘Bad’, ‘good’ and ‘little’ do not follow the rules and have
their own words for comparison:

bad worse worst
good better best
little less least

The patient is worse today.
Clive is the best pupil I have ever taught.

That is the least of my worries.