ESL Grammar: COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES (10): Comparative Sentences with Opposites

In this ESL grammar lesson, students practice rewriting various comparative sentences using the opposites of the adjectives presented. This is an excellent way to practice writing logical sentences with comparative adjectives.

ESL Grammar: Using Adjective Opposites in Comparatives

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use the opposites of given adjectives to create comparative sentences. This will help you understand not just how to make comparisons, but also how to describe contrasts effectively.

Adjective Opposites:

• Tall / Short
• Big / Small
• Fast / Slow
• Hot / Cold
• Happy / Sad

ESL Grammar: How to Construct Comparative Sentences with Opposites

Sentence Structure:

• Noun 1 + Verb + Adjective (opposite) + -er + than + Noun 2

Examples:

• Tall / Short: John is taller than Mike. Mike is shorter than John.
• Big / Small: The elephant is bigger than the cat. The cat is smaller than the elephant.

Practice Sentences

Use the adjectives and their opposites to complete the sentences:

1. Adjectives: tall / short
   • Sentence: The building is taller than the house. The house is shorter than the building.
2. Adjectives: big / small
   • Sentence: The car is bigger than the bicycle. The bicycle is smaller than the car.
3. Adjectives: fast / slow
   • Sentence: The train is faster than the bus. The bus is slower than the train.
4. Adjectives: hot / cold
   • Sentence: The soup is hotter than the salad. The salad is colder than the soup.
5. Adjectives: happy / sad
   • Sentence: She is happier than she was yesterday. Yesterday, she was sadder than today.

The English grammar lesson below reinforces the concept of comparative adjectives by giving students a chance to write the opposite of the sentences presented by changing the adjectives. Our series of ESL grammar lessons on subjects and verbs introduce these concepts and reinforce them through helpful and instructive exercises.

This lesson is available for free download, and you can download many more English grammar lessons focusing on all different parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and lots more!) in our comprehensive, beginner-level ESL grammar textbook Great, Great Grammar! (Book 1: Parts of Speech).