Adverbs: Comparative & Superlative

Rule

In general, comparative and superlative forms of adverbs are the same as for adjectives:

• add -er or -est to short adverbs:

Adverb	Comparative	Superlative
hard late fast	harder later faster	the hardest the latest the fastest

Example:

• Jim works harder than his brother.
• Everyone in the race ran fast, but John ran the fastest of all.

Rule

With adverbs ending in -ly, use more for the comparative and most for the superlative:

Adverb	Comparative	Superlative
quietly slowly seriously	more quietly more slowly more seriously	most quietly most slowly most seriously

Example:

• The teacher spoke more slowly to help us to understand.
• Could you sing more quietly please?

Rule

Some adverbs have irregular comparative forms:

Adverb	Comparative	Superlative
badly far little well	worse farther/further less better	worst farthest/furthest least best

Example:

• The little boy ran further than his friends.
• You're driving worse today than yesterday !
  

BE CAREFUL! Sometimes 'most' can mean 'very':

• We were most grateful for your help
• I am most impressed by this application.