🎯

Learning Objectives

5 minutes reading
✓
Identify comparative adjectives in business conversations and emails
✓
Use one-syllable (-er), multi-syllable (more), and irregular comparative adjectives correctly
✓
Recognize the correct sentence structure for making comparisons (adjective-er than, more adjective than)
✓
Demonstrate the ability to compare two business options in speaking and writing tasks
💡
Key Learning Tip

"Short word, add -er. Long word, use more." This simple rule will help you form most comparative adjectives correctly!

📚

Grammar Explanation

10 minutes reading

We use comparative adjectives to compare two people, places, things, or ideas. The form depends on the length of the adjective.

One-Syllable

Add -er

adjective + er + than
fast → faster
cheap → cheaper
big → bigger (double consonant)
Two-Syllable (-y ending)

Change y to i, add -er

adjective (y→i) + er + than
easy → easier
busy → busier
friendly → friendlier
Two+ Syllables

Use "more"

more + adjective + than
expensive → more expensive
difficult → more difficult
detailed → more detailed
Irregular Forms

Complete Change

irregular comparative + than
good → better
bad → worse
far → further / farther
🔑
Usage Rule

Always use the word than after the comparative adjective when the second item is in the sentence. Example: "Project A is cheaper than Project B."

💼

Professional Contexts

5 minutes reading

Strategic Decisions

📦 Choosing a Supplier: "This supplier's delivery is faster than the other one, but their quality is worse."
📋 Project Planning: "Plan A is safer than Plan B, but Plan B has a bigger potential reward."
👥 Hiring Decisions: "Candidate Ana is more experienced than Tom, but Tom's salary expectation is lower."
📢 Marketing: "The social media campaign was more effective than the email campaign."

Daily Business

📊 Reporting: "This month's sales figures are higher than last month's."
📞 Communication: "It is quicker to call him than to send an email."
💻 Product Feedback: "Our new software is easier to use than the old version."
🤝 Networking: "The conference in London was more interesting than the one in Berlin."
✅

Examples - Correct & Incorrect Usage

5 minutes reading
✓

Correct Professional Usage

✓
"Our new office is bigger than our old one."

One-syllable adjective: big + -er + than

✓
"The train is more expensive than the bus for business travel."

Multi-syllable adjective: more + expensive + than

✓
"Her presentation was better than mine."

Irregular adjective: good → better

✓
"I am busier this week than I was last week."

Adjective ending in -y: busy → busier

✓
"This year's budget is smaller than last year's budget."

One-syllable adjective: small + -er + than

✓
"The connection in the meeting room is worse than the connection at my desk."

Irregular adjective: bad → worse

✗

Common Mistakes to Avoid

✗
"This report is more long than the last one."

Use: "This report is longer than the last one." ('Long' is one syllable, so add -er)

✗
"The service from Company A is gooder than Company B."

Use: "The service is better than..." ('Good' is irregular: good → better)

✗
"His solution is more cheap."

Use: "His solution is cheaper than my solution." ('Cheap' is one syllable; also, use 'than' when comparing)

🎧

Listening Exercise

10 minutes

Scenario: A discussion between Anna (Project Manager) and David (Department Head) about choosing software vendors.

🎙️ Audio: Software Vendor Discussion
Ready
0:00 / 0:00
🔊
Speed:

Audio Transcript: Software Vendor Discussion

David: Hi Anna, do you have a minute? I want to discuss the software vendors for the new project. Innovatech and SoftSolutions. What are your thoughts?

Anna: Hi David. Yes, I've looked at both. It's an interesting choice. On paper, SoftSolutions looks good because it is cheaper than Innovatech. Their basic package is much lower in price.

David: Okay, a lower price is good for the budget. But what about the features? Is one better than the other?

Anna: Yes. This is the important part. The Innovatech software is more powerful than the SoftSolutions one. It can handle more data, and its processing speed is faster. The user interface is also cleaner and easier to use. I think the team will learn it much more quickly than the SoftSolutions system.

David: So, Innovatech is more expensive, but it's a better product?

Anna: Exactly. I also spoke to their support teams. The support from Innovatech was more helpful than the team at SoftSolutions. Their response time was shorter, and they answered all my technical questions. The experience with SoftSolutions was... not great. Their team seemed busier and less focused.

David: That's a very important point. Bad support can be a big problem. A difficult system is also a risk.

Anna: It is. I think the long-term problems with SoftSolutions could be worse than the high price of Innovatech. The team might be less productive if the software is slower and more difficult to use.

David: I agree. It sounds like you think Innovatech is the clear choice. Your analysis is much more detailed than the document they sent us.

Anna: I believe so. It's a bigger investment now, but it will be safer and more efficient for the future.

David: Okay, Anna. Thank you. This was very helpful. Let's prepare the proposal for Innovatech.

Question 1: According to Anna, why is SoftSolutions attractive at first?

💡 Hint: Listen for what Anna says about the price at the beginning.

Question 2: What is the main problem with the SoftSolutions software itself?

💡 Hint: Listen for Anna's comparison of the software features and user interface.

Question 3: Complete the sentence from the audio: "The support from Innovatech was ___________ the team at SoftSolutions."

💡 Hint: "Helpful" is a long adjective (2+ syllables). What form do we use?
🧠

Interactive Quiz

10 minutes

Choose the correct comparative form for each sentence:

1

Our new delivery service is ______ than the old one.

A faster
B more fast
C fast
2

The final proposal was ______ than the first draft.

A detaileder
B more detailed
C more detail
3

Client feedback for Product A is ______ than for Product B.

A gooder
B more good
C better
✏️

Practice Exercises

10 minutes

Exercise A - True/False Grammar Check

Are these sentences grammatically correct? Choose True or False.

1.

This laptop is more expensive that the other one.

💡 Hint: Check the word after the comparative. Should it be "that" or "than"?
2.

The morning meeting is earlier than the afternoon one.

💡 Hint: "Early" ends in -y. What's the correct comparative form?
3.

Our office is more modern than their office.

💡 Hint: "Modern" has 2 syllables. Is "more modern" correct?
4.

My new manager is friendlyer than my old manager.

💡 Hint: For adjectives ending in -y, we change y to i, then add -er.
5.

This project is difficulter than the last one.

💡 Hint: "Difficult" has 3 syllables. Do we add -er or use "more"?

Exercise B - Transformation Exercise

Create one sentence from two using the adjective in parentheses:

1.

Product A costs €50. Product B costs €100. (expensive)

💡 Hint: Which product costs more? "Expensive" has 3+ syllables, so use "more expensive than".
2.

The old system was slow. The new system is fast. (fast)

💡 Hint: "Fast" is one syllable, so add -er to make "faster than".
3.

My workday is 8 hours. Your workday is 10 hours. (long)

💡 Hint: Whose workday is longer? "Long" is one syllable, so add -er.
4.

Team A's report has 2 pages. Team B's report has 10 pages. (detailed)

💡 Hint: "Detailed" has multiple syllables, so use "more detailed than".

Exercise C - Fill the Blanks

Look at the table comparing two company smartphones. Complete the sentences:

Feature Phone X (New Model) Phone Z (Old Model)
Price €800 €500
Weight 150g 200g
Battery 18 hours 12 hours
Screen 6.5 inches 6.0 inches
1.

Phone Z is _____ (cheap) than Phone X.

💡 Hint: "Cheap" is one syllable. Add -er.
2.

Phone X is _____ (light) than Phone Z.

💡 Hint: "Light" is one syllable. Add -er.
3.

The battery on Phone X is _____ (good) than Phone Z.

💡 Hint: "Good" is irregular. What's the comparative form?
4.

The screen on Phone X is _____ (big) than Phone Z.

💡 Hint: "Big" ends in consonant-vowel-consonant. Double the last letter and add -er.
5.

Phone X is _____ (expensive) than Phone Z.

💡 Hint: "Expensive" has 3+ syllables. Use "more" before it.
📋

Summary

2 minutes

🎓 Key Takeaways

  • To compare two things, use comparative adjectives.
  • For short adjectives (1 syllable), add -er (e.g., faster, cheaper).
  • For long adjectives (2+ syllables), use more (e.g., more expensive, more difficult).
  • For adjectives ending in -y, change y to i and add -er (e.g., easier, busier).
  • Remember irregular forms: good → better, bad → worse.
  • Always use than when both items are in the sentence.
✨
Congratulations!

You've completed Lesson 3.1 on Comparative Adjectives. You can now make professional comparisons in English! Continue to Lesson 3.2 to learn about Superlative Adjectives.

Leçon suivante →