Comparing with -er and -est

The endings -er and -est help us compare. Use -er to compare two things: 'A horse is taller than a dog. ' Use -est to compare three or more and find the most: 'The giraffe is the tallest of all. ' So 'fast' becomes 'faster', then 'fastest'.

Spelling tip: if a short word has a short vowel and one consonant at the end, double it first: 'big', 'bigger', 'biggest'. If it ends in y, change y to i: 'happy', 'happier', 'happiest'. Read: 'My kite is higher than yours, but Ben's is the highest.

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• 1-er compares two things.
• 2-est compares three or more.
• 3Double the consonant or change y to i when needed.