Irregular comparisons of good, bad and far

The idea

Use better and worse to compare two things, often with than. Use the best and the worst for an extreme in a group. Distance uses farther/further and farthest/furthest.

Examples

• This path is better than that road.
• Today is the best day for a picnic.
• The traffic is worse after lunch.
• That was the worst meal of the trip.
• The station is farther than the museum.
• This village is the furthest from the coast.

Watch out

Do not add more to better or worse. Both distance variants are used in British and American English.

Try it yourself

1. Choose the correct form: Our new oven works ___ than the old one. (better / best)

   Show answer or example answer

   better

   better: the oven is compared with one other oven.

2. Choose the correct form: Of these three songs, this is the ___. (worse / worst)

   Show answer or example answer

   worst

   worst: the sentence selects the least good song among three.

3. Choose the correct form: The lake is ___ away than the café. (farther / further / farthest)

   Show answer or example answer

   farther / further

   farther or further: the lake is compared with the café.

Use it today

Compare two routes and name the best one.