Note that good and bad have the irregular comparative forms better and worse.
The patterns for forming regular and irregular comparatives are explained in the Reference Section.
in front of a noun
2.104 Comparatives can be used as modifiers in front of a noun.
The family moved to a smaller home.
He dreams of a better, more exciting life.
A harder mattress often helps with back injuries.
Note that comparatives can also be used as modifiers in front of one.
An understanding of this reality provokes a better one.
after a linking verb
2.105 Comparatives can also be used after a linking verb.
The ball soaked up water and became heavier.
His breath became quieter.
We need to be more flexible.
The use of adjectives after linking verbs is explained in paragraphs 3.132 to 3.137.
structures used after comparatives
2.106 Comparatives are often followed by than when you want to specify what the other thing involved in the comparison is. You say exactly what you are comparing by using one of a number of structures after than.
These structures can be
Charlie was more honest than his predecessor.
…an area bigger than Mexico.
Note that when than is followed by a pronoun on its own, the pronoun must be an object pronoun such as me, him, or her.
My brother is younger than me.
Lamin was shorter than her.
The changes will be even more striking in the case of teaching than in medicine.
The odds of surviving childhood in New York City are worse than in some Third World countries.
I would have done a better job than he did.
I was a better writer than he was.
He’s taller than I am.
Note that when a comparative is not followed by a than phrase, the other thing in the comparison should be obvious. For example, if someone says Could I have a bigger one, please? they are likely to be holding the item that they think is too small.
A mattress would be better.
position of comparatives
2.107 If you choose a phrase or clause beginning with than when you are using a comparative in front of a noun, you usually put the phrase or clause after the whole noun phrase, not directly after the comparative.
The world is a more dangerous place than it was.
Willy owned a larger collection of books than anyone else I have ever met.
A comparative can also come immediately after a noun, but only when it is followed by than and a noun phrase.
We’ve got a rat bigger than a cat living in our roof.
…packs of cards larger than he was used to.
more and more than
2.108 More is sometimes used in front of a whole noun phrase to show that something has more of the qualities of one thing than another, or is one thing rather than being another.
Music is more a way of life than an interest.
This is more a war movie than a western.
Note that more than is used before adjectives for emphasis.
Their life may be horribly dull, but they are more than satisfied.
You would be more than welcome.
comparatives used as nouns
2.109 Comparative adjectives are sometimes used as noun-type words in fairly formal English. In such phrases, you put the in front of it, and follow it with of and a noun phrase that refers to the two things being compared.
…the shorter of the two lines.
Dorothea was the more beautiful of the two.
There are two windmills, the larger of which stands a hundred feet high.
If it is clear what you are talking about, you can omit of and the following noun phrase.
Notice to quit must cover the rental period or four weeks, whichever is the longer.
less
2.110 The form that is used to say that something does not have as much of a quality as something else is less followed by an adjective.
The answer had been less truthful than his own.
You can also use less and an adjective to say that something does not have as much of a quality as it had before.
As the days went by, Sita became less anxious.
Note that less than is used before adjectives to express a negative idea.
It would have been less than fair.
contrasted comparatives
2.111 You show that one amount of a quality or thing is linked to another amount by using two contrasted comparatives preceded by the.
The smaller it is, the cheaper it is to post.
The more militant we became, the less confident she became.
The larger the organization, the less scope there is for decision.
Comparing things: superlatives
2.112 Another way of describing something is to say that it has more of a quality than anything else of its kind. You do this by using a superlative adjective. Only qualitative adjectives usually have superlatives, but a few colour adjectives also have them. Superlatives normally consist of either -est added to the end of an adjective and the placed in front of it, as in the hardest and the smallest, or of the most placed in front of the adjective, as in the most interesting and the most flexible.
Note that good and bad have the irregular superlative forms the best and the worst.