Select the most appropriate adjective to fill in the blank. You won't find a…

Concept

English adjectives have positive, comparative, and superlative degrees. The comparative degree compares two persons, things, or situations; short adjectives generally form it by adding “-er”, while the superlative compares one member with a whole group.

Application

The pattern “a ___ hotel than this” compares another hotel with this hotel. Therefore the blank needs the comparative degree of “cheap”. The regular comparative form is “cheaper”, so the completed sentence is: “You won't find a cheaper hotel than this for a night.”

Contrast

• “More cheap” uses the analytic pattern “more + adjective”, but standard usage forms the comparative of the short adjective “cheap” with “-er”.

• “Cheapest” is the superlative degree and is normally used when one item is compared with an entire group, often with “the”.

• “More cheaper” combines two comparative markers—“more” and “-er”—and therefore forms a double comparative.

Result

The required adjective is “cheaper”.