EnglishGrade 9ages 14–15
📏 bigger than
In Hebrew, one word for "more" sits in front of every adjective regardless of length; in English, the length of the word decides whether it takes "more" or an "-er" ending — and "than" and "then" get swapped along the way.
Try this lesson freeNo card needed. The first lesson is free.
Download on the App StoreWhat your child learns
- big → bigger. small → smaller. Then than.
- A long word does not take er: more beautiful, not beautifuller.
- than compares two things. then is later — a different word.
- In Hebrew the word for more stands in front of every adjective, long or short. In English the length of the word decides.
The mistake most kids make here
more big, or bigger then.
Try one question
A door versus a book. Which is right?
Door versus book
- The door is more big than the book
- The door is bigger than the book
- The door is bigger then the book
Answer
The door is bigger than the book — That's it. bigger than — one ending followed by the compare word.
How Maya teaches it
Your child tells Maya what they did in class. She teaches this topic at her desk, asks questions with tappable answers, and when the answer is wrong she explains why that answer was tempting instead of saying “try again”. She remembers what did not land and comes back to it.
Your child has it when they can: Say: A is bigger than B.
How to help at home
Short words take "-er": big becomes bigger, small becomes smaller. Long words take "more" instead: more beautiful, never "beautifuller."
In Hebrew, the word for "more" goes in front of every adjective, short or long, with no exceptions. English splits the rule by word length, which is the part that has to be learned fresh.
"Than" compares two things — A is bigger than B. "Then" means later, a completely different word that just happens to sound similar. Point out the spelling difference directly when it comes up.
A good sign of mastery: your child picks "-er" for short words and "more" for long ones without hesitating, and uses "than" (not "then") when comparing two things.
Questions parents ask
- Why does my child say 'more big' instead of 'bigger'?
- In Hebrew, the word for "more" attaches to every adjective the same way, regardless of length. English instead switches between "-er" and "more" depending on how long the word is, which has to be learned as its own rule.
- How do I know which words take -er and which take more?
- Short, one-syllable words like big, small, and fast usually take -er. Longer words like beautiful or important take more instead of an ending.
- Are than and then really different words?
- Yes — "than" is used to compare two things (bigger than), while "then" means "next" or "at that time." They sound alike but mean completely different things.
- How does Maya teach this differently from a worksheet?
- Maya has the child produce a full comparison sentence — A is bigger than B — so both the -er/more choice and the than/then choice get practiced together, in context.
No card needed. The first lesson is free.
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