Write for Business - Blog

Adjectives have three forms: positive, comparative, and superlative.

Positive
The positive form describes without making any comparisons.

Good employees are important assets.

Comparative
The comparative form (-er, more, or less) compares two persons, places, things, or ideas.

Good employees are a more important asset than good buildings.

Superlative
The superlative form (-est, most, or least) compares three or more persons, places, things, or ideas.

Good employees are the most important asset a business can possess.

Note: Most one-syllable and some two-syllable adjectives take the er and est endings. Most two-syllable and most three-syllable adjectives use more and most (and less and least).

(From Write for Business, page 250, and Proofreader's Guide PDF, page 61)