Adjectives: Order and Degrees of Comparison — Practice Quiz

taller

The word 'than' is a clear indicator that we need the comparative degree. When comparing two people, we use the comparative form. For short adjectives like 'tall', we add '-er' to make 'taller'. 'Tall' is positive degree, 'tallest' is superlative (used for three or more), and 'more tall' is incorrect for short adjectives.

happiest

For adjectives ending in 'y' preceded by a consonant, we change 'y' to 'i' and add '-est' for the superlative form. 'Happy' becomes 'happiest'. We don't use 'most happy' because 'happy' is a short adjective. 'Happyer' is incorrectly spelled, and 'more happy' is the wrong degree (comparative).

My elder brother lives in Mumbai.

'Elder' is used only for people who are members of the same family, and it's never followed by 'than'. For general comparisons between people, animals, or things, we use 'older'. Option A and D incorrectly use 'elder' for non-family members/objects. Option C incorrectly uses 'elder than'. Only option B correctly uses 'elder' for a family member without 'than'.

more

For long adjectives (usually 2+ syllables), we use 'more' + adjective for the comparative degree. 'Interesting' has four syllables, so we use 'more interesting' not 'interestinger'. The presence of 'than' confirms we need comparative degree. 'Most' is superlative, 'much' and 'very' are adverbs that don't form comparatives.