Comparatives & Superlatives for Data Description

In IELTS Writing Task 1, you are required to describe, summarise, and compare data. Comparatives and superlatives are essential tools for this — they allow you to make meaningful comparisons between data points, identify extremes, and highlight differences. This lesson covers the grammar you need and shows you how to use it effectively.

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Forming Comparatives and Superlatives

One-syllable adjectives: add -er / -est

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative
high	higher	the highest
low	lower	the lowest
large	larger	the largest
small	smaller	the smallest
fast	faster	the fastest

Two-syllable adjectives ending in -y: change -y to -ier / -iest

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative
early	earlier	the earliest
steady	steadier	the steadiest
heavy	heavier	the heaviest

Two or more syllables: use more / most