Irregular Adjectives
A small number of adjectives are irregular in the way they make comparative and superlative forms.
The normal (regular) way to make comparative and superlative adjectives is to add -er/-est or use more/most, like this:
- big → bigger → biggest
- expensive → more expensive → most expensive
Irregular adjectives use completely different forms. Note, however, that some adjectives can be both regular and irregular, sometimes with a slight change in meaning. The most important irregular adjectives are listed in the table below.
| adjective | comparative | superlative | example sentence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| good | better | the best | irregular | Tara is the best athlete in the school. |
| well (healthy) | better | the best | He is still in hospital, but he is better than he was last week. | |
| bad | worse | the worst | irregular | You are the worst driver I have ever known. |
| far | further | the furthest | irregular | My house is the furthest one. |
| farther | the farthest | regular | My house is the farther one. | |
| old (people in a family) | elder | the eldest | irregular | Ram is my elder brother. |
| old (general use) | older | the oldest | regular | Your teacher is older than my teacher. |