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Adjectives - Adding 'er' and 'est'
Big ~ Bigger ~ Biggest.

Adjectives - Adding 'er' and 'est'

Learn how to use adjectives with -er and -est to compare things, like taller, tallest, faster, fastest, and avoid little mistakes in your KS1 writing.

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Fascinating Fact:

Do not use “more” with “-er”, so say “bigger”, not “more bigger”. One helper is enough.

In KS1 English, children learn to change adjectives to compare. We use -er to compare two things, and -est for three or more, following simple spelling patterns.

Key Terms

  • Adjective: A word that describes a noun, such as small, happy, or bright.
  • Comparative: The -er form used to compare two things, like taller or quicker.
  • Superlative: The -est form showing the “most”, like tallest or quickest.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

How do you use -er and -est in KS1 English?

Use -er when comparing two things, such as “Tom is taller than Ben”, and -est for three or more, such as “Tom is the tallest in the class”.

When do you change the spelling with -er and -est?

For short words ending in one consonant, double the consonant: big, bigger, biggest. For words ending in y, change y to i: happy, happier, happiest.

Should I use more with adjectives ending in -er?

No. Do not use “more” with -er. Say “bigger”, not “more bigger”. Use either “bigger” or “more big”, but “more big” sounds awkward, so “bigger” is best.

Try These Related Quizzes

To see a larger image, click on the picture.
1 .
This giraffe is very cute compared to his brother but how do I spell this?
cuteer
cuter
cutest
cuteest
I am comparing him to one other giraffe so we will add 'er'. Because there is already an 'e' at the end of the word 'cute' we just need to add an 'r' instead of 'er'.
2 .
If he is late, compared to the others - how do we spell this?
lateer
latest
lateest
later
Because he is the latest out of a group, we add 'est.' However, because there is already an 'e' at the end of the word 'late' we don't need to add another one, so this time we just add 'st'.
3 .
Which word can you not add 'est' to the end of?
pretty
magical
kind
clever
We can say she is prettier or the prettiest, kinder or kindest and cleverer or cleverest.
4 .
Which word is not an adjective?
angry
brave
horse
happy
An adjective is a word that describes something. We could say the horse was brave, angry or happy - these are all words that describe what the horse is like.
5 .
Compared to my (one) friend I am...
slow
slowing
slowest
slower
We would say I am slower than my friend but out of a group, I'd be the slowest.
6 .
Which word can you not add 'er' to the end of?
trouble
messy
happy
green
We could say he is the messiest, or messier; he is the happiest or happier; and we can say his jumper is the greenest or greener than my jumper!
7 .
When do you add 'er' onto an adjective?
When comparing something to one other thing.
When comparing something to more than one other thing.
When you did something yesterday.
When you plan on doing something in the future.
I could say I am taller than my friend, so one other person. Or, I could say I am the tallest, which would be compared to more than one person.
8 .
Compared to his friends he is the...
fatter
fat
fattest
fatty
It's not a very nice thing to say but if he is the fattest in a group we would add 'est'.
9 .
'They are the ____ in school.' Fill in the missing word.
cooler
cool
coolest
cooling
We use 'er' when compared to one person and 'est' when compared to a group. Here, we are comparing this group to the whole school, so it's 'est'.
10 .
When do you add 'est' onto an adjective?
When comparing something to one other thing.
When comparing something to more than one other thing.
When you did something yesterday.
When you plan on doing something in the future.
I could say I am happier than my friend, so one other person. Or, I could say I am the happiest, which would be compared to more than one person.
You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - What are adjectives?

Author:  Finola Waller (MEd, Primary School Teacher & KS1 English Quiz Writer)
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