5 Fun Activities To Teach Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

If you’re teaching English comparative and superlative adjectives and want some fun and exciting games to use in class, you’re in the right place. Comparative adjectives are used to compare two things, and superlative adjectives are used to compare three or more. Once students understand how to use them, they can create richer sentences and expand their vocabulary in a big way. In this post, you’ll find our top five classroom game ideas for teaching comparative and superlative adjectives.

Classroom Olympics – A Fun Way to Practice Comparatives and Superlatives

Top of our list is Classroom Olympics, a lively game in which students compete in fun classroom challenges and then make sentences using comparatives or superlatives. The activities you choose will depend on which form you’re practicing and the adjective you want to focus on. Below are some examples of how to play:

Comparative Adjective: Faster

• Write 10–20 words from your current lesson on the board.
• Invite two students to the front and give each a board eraser.
• Students stand with their backs to the board.
• Call out one of the words. Students turn around and try to erase it as quickly as possible.
• The first to erase the word wins. Ask the class, “Who is faster?” and have them answer using a comparative sentence (e.g., “Sarah is faster than James.”).

Superlative Adjective: Fastest

• Repeat the game with all students until you find the fastest in the class. Then, ask the class, “Who is the fastest?” and have them answer using a superlative sentence (e.g., “Sarah is the fastest in the class.”).

Other Ideas:

• Higher / Highest – Who can jump the highest?
• Low / Lowest – Limbo challenge.
• Strong / Strongest – Arm wrestling.
• Lucky / Luckiest – Rock-paper-scissors or roll a die.
• Louder / Loudest – Who can shout the loudest?

Comparative and Superlative Quizzes

Quizzes are a quick and engaging way to practice comparative and superlative adjectives. Below are four ready-to-use video quizzes covering both forms. Simply choose one, play it in class, and get your students competing to see who knows the most.

How to Play

Play the video in class and pause when you see the pause sign to give students time to answer. Students can write their answers as comparative or superlative sentences, or call them out for speaking practice. These quizzes work well as individual, pair, or team games.

Comparatives Chain Game – Warm-Up Activity

This simple game is a great warm-up to introduce or review comparative adjectives. All you need is a timer.

1. Brainstorm some comparative adjectives and write them on the board.
2. Choose a topic with many nouns, such as “animals.”
3. Write a comparative sentence on the board comparing two nouns (e.g., “Elephants are bigger than cats.”).

The aim is to create as many “comparative chains” as possible, with each new sentence starting with the last noun from the previous one (e.g., Elephants are bigger than cats. Cats are smarter than pigs. Pigs are fatter than dogs.). Give the first team 1–2 minutes to make their chain, then switch to a new topic (e.g., food) for the next team.

Comparing My Family

This activity is a great way to review family vocabulary while practicing comparatives and superlatives. It works especially well with younger learners. Ask each student to bring in photos of their family members. If that’s not possible, they can draw their family instead.

1. Begin by eliciting adjectives that describe people (e.g., old, young, tall, short, funny, etc.).
2. Have students think about their family members and decide who is the tallest, oldest, youngest, funniest, and so on.
3. Students work in pairs or small groups and try to guess the names of their partner’s family members based on descriptions.

One student shows their pictures or drawings to the group and makes a superlative sentence about one family member (e.g., “John is the shortest person in my family.”). The others guess which picture or drawing matches the description. Continue until all family members have been guessed, then switch turns.

Comparative and Superlative Flashcard Games

Flashcards are a great way to present vocabulary and can be adapted for many activities. Here’s a flashcard game you can play to practice creating sentences with comparative and superlative adjectives.

1. Prepare a set of noun flashcards on any topic (e.g., food, animals, school subjects, countries). You can download and print free sets from our Flashcards Page.
2. Divide the class into two teams and have one student from each team come to the front.
3. After a count of three, show both students the same flashcard.
4. They must quickly make a comparative sentence using the word and write it on the board. For example, if the card is an elephant: “An elephant is bigger than a fly.” or “An elephant is heavier than the teacher.”

The first student to write a correct sentence wins the card for their team. Continue until all cards are used, and the team with the most cards at the end is the winner.

Superlative variation: Instead of writing a comparative sentence, have students create a superlative sentence about the flashcard (e.g., “An elephant is the largest animal in the world.”).

More Resources for Your Comparatives and Superlatives Lessons

Here are some related resources you can use alongside these games to give your students even more practice with comparatives and superlatives.

• Comparative Worksheets
• Comparatives Lessons Plan for Kids
• Comparative and Superlative Questions