Irregular Comparisons Some adjectives have comparative forms that

Irregular Comparisons
Some adjectives have comparative forms that are irregular.
Adjective or Adverb
Comparative
bueno/a; bien
good
mejor
better
malo/a; mal
bad
peor
worse
grande
big
mayor
bigger
pequeño/a
small
menor
smaller
joven
young
menor
younger
viejo/a
old
mayor
older
When “grande” and “pequeño” are used to talk about size, the regular forms are used:
EX:
más grande
El carro de mi padre es más grande que el tuyo.
When “grande” and “pequeño” refer to age, the irregular forms are used:
EX:
Yo soy menor que tú.
I am younger (smaller) than you.
Superlatives
Superlatives are used to express the highest or lowest degree of a quality.
EX:
the best
the worst
the longest
The construction for superlatives is as follows:
el /la /los /las
+
noun
+
más / menos
+
adjective
**The noun is always preceded by a definite article.
** The word “de” is the same as “in” or “of” in English.
**The noun can be omitted if the person, place, or thing referred to is clear.
EX:
El pollo asado es el plato más delicioso del restaurante.
The roasted chicken is the best dish of the restaurant.
Es el más delicioso del menú.
It’s the best on the menu.
+
de
There are irregular superlative forms.
Adjective
Superlative
bueno/a
good
el/la mejor
the best
malo/a
bad
el/la peor
the worst
grande
big
el/la mayor
the biggest
pequeño/a
small
el/la menor
the smallest
joven
young
el/la menor
the youngest
viejo/a
old
el/la mayor
the eldest
**”Mejor” and “peor” generally precede the noun.
Es la mejor clase.
**”Mayor” and “menor” generally follow the noun when referring to age.
Ella es mi hermana mayor.
Absolute superlatives
The absolute is the equivalent of “extremely”, “super” in English.
To form the absolute of most adjectives and adverbs, drop the final vowel (if there is one) and add:
-ísimo/a/os/as
EX:
mucho = muchísimo
Some of the absolutes have spelling changes.
rico = riquísimo
largo = larguísimo
feliz = felicísimo
joven = jovencísimo
trabajador = trabajadorcísimo