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Grammar · From lesson 10

TOEIC Grammar: Comparatives and Superlatives

Free extract from the Noto Tracks TOEIC course

Forms

Adjective type	Comparative	Superlative
One syllable	cheap → cheaper	the cheapest
One syllable ending consonant-vowel-consonant	big → bigger	the biggest
Two syllables ending in -y	busy → busier, early → earlier	the busiest, the earliest
Two or more syllables (most)	more efficient, more reliable	the most efficient, the most reliable
Adverbs ending in -ly	more quickly, more carefully	the most quickly
Irregular	good/well → better; bad/badly → worse; far → farther/further; many/much → more; little → less	the best; the worst; the farthest/furthest; the most; the least

The "less" direction uses less / the least with any adjective: less expensive, the least expensive. With countable nouns, careful English uses fewer: fewer errors, less paperwork.

Signals in the sentence

Signal	Form needed	Example
than	comparative	Rail freight is cheaper than air freight.
the … in / of / among + group; the … ever; one of the + plural noun	superlative	the largest of the three sites; one of the most popular models; the best results we have ever had
as … as / not as (so) … as	base adjective or adverb	as soon as possible; not as expensive as we expected
the same … as / similar to / different from	no comparative	the same price as last year
the + comparative, the + comparative	double comparative	The earlier you book, the lower the fare.
much, far, even, considerably, a little, slightly + comparative	comparative	even better, slightly higher
by far, easily, the second / third + superlative	superlative	by far the busiest month; the second largest supplier

Of all the venues we visited, the Linden Hall offers the ------- parking for large groups.
(A) convenient (B) more convenient (C) most convenient (D) conveniently

Answer: (C) — Of all the venues and the before the blank both signal a superlative. (B) would need than or a comparison between two things; (A) and (D) do not compare at all.

Trap Double marking is always wrong: more cheaper, most fastest, more better. Also check what follows as: in as … as, use the base form, never a comparative (as quickly as, not as more quickly as). And in comparisons with as … as, choose adjective or adverb by the usual rule: The new process is as efficient as the old one (after is) but The new team works as efficiently as the old one (describes works).

Quick check: (a) This quarter's profits were (high / higher) than expected. (b) It is one of the (busier / busiest) airports in the region. (c) Please reply as (prompt / promptly) as you can. — Answers: (a) higher, (b) busiest, (c) promptly.

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Lesson 10, "Grammar course 1: Sentence structure and word forms", is in the Noto Tracks TOEIC course. The rest of it covers:

2. Sentence structure: the five basic patterns
4. Nouns
6. Pronouns
10. A five-step routine for word-form items

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