The comparative in Dutch is formed by adding -er to the adjective: groot becomes groter, klein becomes kleiner, snel becomes sneller. For adjectives ending in -r, add -der: ver becomes verder. The superlative adds -st: groot becomes grootst, klein becomes kleinst. Longer adjectives or those already ending in difficult clusters use meer and meest: meer gecompliceerd, het meest gecompliceerd.
Irregular comparatives include: goed becomes beter and then best, veel becomes meer and then meest, weinig becomes minder and then minst, graag becomes liever and then liefst. These must be memorised. Weinig becoming minder and minst parallels the English less and least and is used the same way. The adjective oud has two comparative options: ouder for people and objects in straightforward comparison.
When comparatives and superlatives appear attributively before a noun, the adjective inflection rules apply. A comparative adjective before a de-word takes -e: een grotere stad. Before a het-word without a definite article, no ending: een groter huis. The superlative almost always has -e: de grootste stad, het grootste huis. Dan follows the comparative (groter dan), and de is used for the superlative: Amsterdam is de grootste stad van Nederland.