Comparatives: CURIOUSER vs. MORE CURIOUS

With almost no exceptions, comparative adjectives are formed either by adding -er or by using more:

• Jill is smart -> Jill is smarter than Penny.
• Jill is intelligent -> Jill is more intelligent than Penny.

The same pattern occurs with the superlative forms -est and most (Note that if an adjective takes the -er form, it will also take the -est form, and likewise for more and most):

• Jill is the smartest student.
• Jill is the most intelligent student.

Non-native speakers of English often find it difficult to know when to use the -er form and when to use the more form. Unfortunately, there isn't a perfect rule for this, but you can still improve your chances of guessing right with a few simple tips.

The good news is that many common adjectives can take either form:

• It couldn't be more simple.
• It couldn't be simpler.

This means that the advice in the following rule will work surprisingly often:

RULE 1: Always use the more form.

Indeed, by my count, Rule 1 works for 78% of the 500 most common gradable adjectives in English! That's much better than a blind guess, but to make an even better prediction, you can use a more complicated rule that takes account of the number of syllables the adjective has:

RULE 2: If the adjective has one syllable, use the -er form. Otherwise, use the more form.

Rule 2 will give you a correct answer in about 86% of cases! This is because there is quite a strong relationship between the number of syllables an adjective has and its comparative form. All adjectives with four or more syllables take only the more form of the comparative and there are only a few three-syllable adjectives that take the -er form such as unhappy, uneasy, unlikely, unlucky and unholy, but each of these can also take the more form. The situation for one- and two-syllable adjectives is a lot more mixed.

A better rule than Rule 2 takes advantage of the fact that many of the two-syllable adjectives that end in -y like happy and silly also take the -er form (note that the -y ending is replaced with -ier in writing):

RULE 3: If the adjective has two syllables and ends in -y, or if it has only one syllable, use the -er form. Otherwise, use the more form.

Rule 3 gives a correct answer for about 91% of the 500 most common gradable adjectives. To improve on this, you need to start memorising exceptions. Most of the exceptions are adjectives that have only one syllable, but which don't take the -er form of the comparative (at least in modern English):

• more right/wrong/real/fake/sure/glad/huge/vast/ill/still/square

Most multi-syllable adjectives that can take the -er form also take the more form with the notable exception of little, which is littler in the comparative rather than more little.

There are also a few irregular adjectives that have entirely different comparative and superlative forms:

• good < better < best
• well < better < best
• bad < worse < worst
• far < further < furthest
• far < farther < farthest [mostly obsolete]

Note that exceptions are generally found among the most common words in a language. This is true for all languages - not just English.

In summary, the form of comparatives and superlatives depends mostly on (1) the number of syllables the adjective has, and (2) whether it ends in a -y.