English Grammar Adjective for Class 3

Most of the adjective work in Class 3 comes down to one idea: comparing. Tall, taller, tallest. Good, better, best. These three forms are called the degrees of comparison, and they’re the main new topic after the kinds of adjectives covered in Class 2.

The three degrees

Positive. The plain adjective, with no comparison. Adrika’s song is sweet.

Comparative. It compares two people or things, and is usually followed by than. Sneha’s song is sweeter than Adrika’s.

Superlative. It picks out one from a group of three or more, and usually comes after the. Shyla’s song is the sweetest of all.

The part most kids miss is the number in each rule. The comparative is for two, the superlative is for three or more. In “Of the two sisters, Meera is the tallest”, the superlative is wrong, because there are only two sisters. It should be “the taller”.

How to make the comparative and superlative

Work through these questions in order. The first one that fits tells you what to do.

1. Is it one of the irregular adjectives? These change completely and simply have to be learned:

2. Is it a long adjective, with three syllables or more? Use more and most, and don’t change the word itself. beautiful → more beautiful → most beautiful difficult → more difficult → most difficult

3. Does it end in e? Add only -r and -st. large → larger → largest safe → safer → safest

4. Does it end in a consonant + y? Change the y to i, then add -er and -est. happy → happier → happiest heavy → heavier → heaviest

5. Is it a short word ending in one vowel + one consonant? Double the last letter before adding -er and -est. big → bigger → biggest hot → hotter → hottest wet → wetter → wettest

6. None of the above? Just add -er and -est. slow → slower → slowest tall → taller → tallest

Two-syllable adjectives are the grey area. Some take -er/-est (simple, simpler), and some take more/most (careful, more careful). At Class 3 level, the textbook examples are the ones to learn. The rest settle in through regular reading and speaking, which is how grammar is handled in Bambinos’ Unbox English course for ages 4 to 15.

Three mistakes to watch for

Doubling up. “More taller” and “most biggest” are wrong, because -er and more do the same job. Use one or the other: taller, biggest.

Forgetting than or the. The comparative usually needs than (“faster than a turtle”), and the superlative usually needs the (“the fastest runner”).

Mixing up adjectives and adverbs. In “The woman is running slowly”, slowly describes how she runs, so it’s an adverb, not an adjective. Adjectives describe nouns. Words ending in -ly that describe actions are usually adverbs.

Practice

A. Choose the correct form.

1. A tiger is ______ than a rabbit. (big / bigger / biggest)
2. Rajesh is the ______ boy in the class. (tall / taller / tallest)
3. This test is ______ than the last one. (easy / easier / easiest)
4. That is the ______ flower in the garden. (beautiful / more beautiful / most beautiful)
5. This book is as ______ as the one I read last week. (interesting / more interesting / most interesting)
6. My handwriting is ______ than my brother’s. (good / better / best)

B. Write the comparative and superlative.

1. thin 2. busy 3. wise 4. bad 5. famous 6. cold

C. Find the mistake and correct it.

1. Of the two bags, this one is the heaviest.
2. Om is the most fastest runner in our school.
3. My kite flew more higher than yours.

Answers

A. 1. bigger 2. tallest 3. easier 4. most beautiful 5. interesting, because as ... as takes the positive degree 6. better

B. 1. thinner, thinnest 2. busier, busiest 3. wiser, wisest 4. worse, worst 5. more famous, most famous 6. colder, coldest

C. 1. “the heavier”, since there are only two bags 2. “the fastest” (remove most) 3. “higher” (remove more)

Making it stick

Comparing is something kids do all day anyway: whose slice is bigger, which game is the best, who ran fastest in PT. Pointing out the grammar in those everyday moments (“You said ‘more bigger’. Which one should it be?”) does more than an extra worksheet, because it happens when the rule actually matters to them.

Class 3 grammar at Bambinos.live is taught through speaking and stories in small live groups, so kids practise these forms in sentences they actually say. The first class is free.