PRESENT TENSE:
- THEY SWIM TODAY
-THEY DON'T SWIM TODAY
- DO THEY SWIM TODAY

PAST TENSE:
- THEY SWAS YESTERDAY
-THEY DINDN'T SWIM YESTERDAY
- DID THEY SWIM YESTERDAY

PRESENT PROGRESSIVE
-THEY'RE SWIMMING NOW
- THEY'RE NOT SWIMMING
-ARE THEY SWIMMING NOW

PAST PROGRESSIVE
-THEY WERE SWIMMING LAST WEEK
- THEY WEREN'T SWIMMING LAST MONT
-WERE THEY SWIMMING LAS YEAR

FUTURE WILL 

-THEY'LL SWIM TOMORROW 

- THEY WONT SWIM NEXT WEEK

- WILL THEY SWIM NEXT YEAR

BE GOING TO

- THEY'RE GOING TO SWIM TOMORROW 

- THEY'RE NOT GOING TO SWIM NEXT WEEK

- ARE THEY GOING TO SWIM NEXT YEAR 

One-syllable adjectives.

Form the comparative and superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding –er for the comparative form and –est for the superlative.

One-Syllable Adjective	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
tall	taller	tallest
old	older	oldest
long	longer	longest

• Mary is taller than Max.
• Mary is the tallest of all the students.
• Max is older than John.
• Of the three students, Max is the oldest.
• My hair is longer than your hair.
• Max's story is the longest story I've ever heard.

If the one-syllable adjective ends with an e, just add –r for the comparative form and –st for the superlative form.

One-Syllable Adjective with Final -e	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
large	larger	largest
wise	wiser	wisest

• Mary's car is larger than Max's car.
• Mary's house is the tallest of all the houses on the block.
• Max is wiser than his brother.
• Max is the wisest person I know.

If the one-syllable adjective ends with a single consonant with a vowel before it, double the consonant and add –er for the comparative form; and double the consonant and add –est for the superlative form.

One-Syllable Adjective Ending with a Single Consonant with a Single Vowel before It	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
big	bigger	biggest
thin	thinner	thinnest
fat	fatter	fattest

• My dog is bigger than your dog.
• My dog is the biggest of all the dogs in the neighborhood.
• Max is thinner than John.
• Of all the students in the class, Max is the thinnest.
• My mother is fatter than your mother.
• Mary is the fattest person I've ever seen.

Two-syllable adjectives.

With most two-syllable adjectives, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.

Two-Syllable Adjective	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
peaceful	more peaceful	most peaceful
pleasant	more pleasant	most pleasant
careful	more careful	most careful
thoughtful	more thoughtful	most thoughtful

• This morning is more peaceful than yesterday morning.
• Max's house in the mountains is the most peaceful in the world.
• Max is more careful than Mike.
• Of all the taxi drivers, Jack is the most careful.
• Jill is more thoughtful than your sister.
• Mary is the most thoughtful person I've ever met.

If the two-syllable adjectives ends with –y, change the y to i and add –er for the comparative form. For the superlative form change the y to i and add –est.

Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with -y	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
happy	happier	happiest
angry	angrier	angriest
busy	busier	busiest

• John is happier today than he was yesterday.
• John is the happiest boy in the world.
• Max is angrier than Mary.
• Of all of John's victims, Max is the angriest.
• Mary is busier than Max.
• Mary is the busiest person I've ever met.

Two-syllable adjectives ending in –er, -le, or –ow take –er and –est to form the comparative and superlative forms.

Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with -er, -le, or -ow	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
narrow	narrower	narrowest
gentle	gentler	gentlest

• The roads in this town are narrower than the roads in the city.
• This road is the narrowest of all the roads in California.
• Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.
• Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.

Adjectives with three or more syllables.

For adjectives with three syllables or more, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.

Adjective with Three or More Syllables	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
generous	more generous	most generous
important	more important	most important
intelligent	more intelligent	most intelligent

• John is more generous than Jack.
• John is the most generous of all the people I know.
• Health is more important than money.
• Of all the people I know, Max is the most important.
• Women are more intelligent than men.
• Mary is the most intelligent person I've ever met.

Exceptions.

Irregular adjectives.

Irregular Adjective	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
good	better	best
bad	worse	worst
far	farther	farthest
little	less	least
many	more	most

• Italian food is better than American food.
• My dog is the best dog in the world.
• My mother's cooking is worse than your mother's cooking.
• Of all the students in the class, Max is the worst.

Two-syllable adjectives that follow two rules. These adjectives can be used with -er and -est and with more and most.

Two-Syllable Adjective	Comparative Form	Superlative Form
clever	cleverer	cleverest
clever	more clever	most clever
gentle	gentler	gentlest
gentle	more gentle	most gentle
friendly	friendlier	friendliest
friendly	more friendly	most friendly
quiet	quieter	quietest
quiet	more quiet	most quiet
simple	simpler	simplest
simple	more simple	most simple

• Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.
• Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.
• Big dogs are more gentle than small dogs.
• Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the most gentle.

Superlatives

Notes:

1. The written lesson is below.
2. Links to quizzes, tests, etc. are to the left.

There are two types of superlative: relative and absolute.

Relative: John is the smartest boy in the class.
Absolute: John is very smart.

The relative superlative describes a noun within the context of some larger group.

John is the smartest boy in the class.
Mary is the youngest person in the room.
Of the three, Moe is the meanest.

The absolute superlative does not describe the noun in the context of a larger group.

John is very smart.
The book is extremely expensive.
The food is indescribably tasty.

In English, the relative superlative is formed by using the word "most" or the ending "-est."

John is the most intelligent boy in the class.
Mary is the smartest girl in the class.

In Spanish, the relative superlative construction is similar to the comparative.

definite article + noun + más (menos) + adjective + de

Here are some superlative examples.

Juan es el chico más inteligente de la clase.
John is the smartest boy in the class.

Bill Gates es el hombre más rico de los EEUU.
Bill Gates is the richest man in the U.S.

Just like in English, the noun can be omitted. All of the following are correct.

María es la chica más delgada de la clase.
Mary is the thinnest girl in the class.

María es la más delgada de la clase.
Mary is the thinnest in the class.

The absolute superlative for adjectives has three possible forms.

muy + adjective
sumamente + adjective
adjective + ísimo (-a, -os, -as)

The following translations are somewhat arbitrary. Each superlative statement is a little stronger than the one that precedes it.

muy guapo
very handsome

sumamente guapo
extremely handsome

guapísimo
indescribably handsome

accept allow ask believe borrow break bring buy can/be able cancel change clean comb complain cough count cut dance draw drink drive eat explain fall fill find finish fit fix fly forget give go have hear hurt know learn leave listen live look lose make/do need open

aceptar permitir/dejar preguntar creer prestar romper traer comprar poder cancelar cambiar limpiar peinar quejarse toser contar cortar bailar dibujar beber conducir comer explicar caerse llenar encontrar terminar caber reparar volar olvidar dar ir * tener oir dañar, herir saber/conocer aprender * salir/marcharse escuchar vivir mirar perder hacer necesitar abrir

close/shut organize pay play put rain read reply run say see sell send sign sing sit sleep smoke speak spell spend stand start/begin study succeed swim take talk teach tell think translate travel try turn off turn on type understand use wait wake up want watch work worry write

cerrar organizar pagar jugar poner llover leer responder correr decir ver vender enviar firmar cantar sentarse dormir fumar hablar deletrear gastar ponerse de pie comenzar estudiar tener exito nadar * tomar hablar enseñar decir pensar traducir viajar intentar apagar encender escribir a maquina entender utilizar/usar esperar despertar querer/desear mirar trabajar preocuparse escribir