as ........ as ........ eg. as often as you like

not as (so) ........ as ........ eg. not as easy as I thought

half – not nearly – not quite – hardly – nearly – almost – equally – twice – three times

Higher Degree

...er / more ........ (see point 6) eg. sooner / more quickly

less ........ eg. less rapidly

not any – slightly – a little – a bit – rather – a good deal – much – a lot – considerably – even –far

...est / most ........ (see point 6) eg. tallest / most massive

least ........ eg. least usual

hardly – literally – clearly – obviously – by far

Using comparative forms, follow one of three patterns:

comp. , comp. eg. The sooner, the better.

comp. + verb , comp. eg. The sooner she comes, the better.

comp. + verb , comp. + verb eg. The sooner she comes, the better I'll feel

...er and ...er eg. It's getting hotter and hotter in here.

more ........ and more ........ eg. The row turned more and more personal.

less ........ and less ........ eg. His comments got less and less polite.

increasingly more/less ........ eg. The film became increasingly more boring.

ever ...er eg. His reflexes became ever slower.

ever more/less ........ eg. Jobs are ever more scarce in the region.

- Add ...er (comparative form) / ...est (superlative form)

- Most adjectives or adverbs of five letters or less add ...er / ...est

- Most adjectives or adverbs of six letters or more use more ........ / most .......

Three-or-more-syllable adjectives/adverbs use more ........ / most ........

good/well – better – best

bad/ill – worse – worst

far – farther – farthest (relating to distances)

far – further – furthest (metaphorical sense, eg. further education)

old – older – oldest (general use)

old – elder – eldest (for family members)

much – more – most

many – more – most

little – less – least

real – more real – most real

right – more right – most right

wrong – more wrong – most wrong

one in three (33%) one in four (25%) one in ten (10%) (NB Only used with 'one')

one out of (every) five (20%) two out of three (66%) nine out of ten (90%)

half / a third / a quarter (of people interviewed) said that ...

half as many ... twice as many ... three times as many ...

no less than (one in three) ... no fewer than (sixty percent) ...

as against (eg. The company's market share was 20% as against 26% last year.)

compared to (eg. She can be compared to some of the greatest actresses of our time.)

compared with (eg. I spent much more on my holidays this year compared with last year.)

in comparison to (eg. His ideas should only be seen in comparison to those of his peers'.)

in comparison with (eg. In comparison with your previous efforts, this is a masterpiece.)