Comparatives, Superlatives and Quantifiers

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

A2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the complete sentence and notice the subject, verb form, time reference and word order before answering.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   This jacket is ___ than the blue one.

   1. cheaper
   2. cheapest
   3. more cheap
   4. cheap
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   cheaper

   Use the comparative form cheaper when comparing two jackets.

   cheaper: Correct: cheaper than.

   cheapest: The superlative compares one item with a larger group.

   more cheap: Cheap normally takes the -er comparative form.

   cheap: The base adjective does not complete a comparison with than.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   We do not have ___ milk left.

   1. much
   2. many
   3. a few
   4. a lot
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   much

   Milk is uncountable, so use much in a negative quantity expression.

   much: Correct: We do not have much milk left.

   many: Many is used with plural countable nouns.

   a few: A few is used with plural countable nouns.

   a lot: The usual phrase here is not a lot of milk, not a lot alone.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   That is the ___ phone in the shop.

   1. most expensive
   2. more expensive
   3. expensive
   4. expensivest
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   most expensive

   Use the superlative most expensive to identify the highest price in the shop.

   most expensive: Correct: the most expensive phone.

   more expensive: More expensive is comparative and needs a second item for comparison.

   expensive: The base form does not express the highest degree.

   expensivest: Long adjectives normally form the superlative with most.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   I need ___ new shoes for work.

   1. a pair of
   2. a piece of
   3. a slice of
   4. an item of
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   a pair of

   A pair of is the standard quantity expression for two shoes worn together.

   a pair of: Correct: a pair of new shoes.

   a piece of: Piece is not the usual quantity expression for shoes.

   a slice of: Slice is used for food, not shoes.

   an item of: Item of does not express the paired quantity needed here.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   This store has ___ customers today than yesterday.

   1. fewer
   2. less
   3. little
   4. few
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   fewer

   Use fewer with plural countable nouns such as customers.

   fewer: Correct: fewer customers than yesterday.

   less: Use less with uncountable nouns.

   little: Little describes a small amount of an uncountable noun.

   few: Few does not complete this comparative structure with than.

What to review next

After checking an answer, explain the rule in your own words and write a new sentence using the same pattern. Revisit any rules you could not explain.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Compare two people, things or situations.

This bag is lighter than that one.

Lighter is the comparative form of light. Than introduces the other item in the comparison.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.