SUPERLATIVES-GRAMMAR

Superlative Adjectives

A superlative adjective expresses the extreme or highest degree of a quality. We use a superlative adjective to describe the extreme quality of one thing in a group of things.

We can use superlative adjectives when talking about three or more things (not two things).

In the example below, "biggest" is the superlative form of the adjective "big":
A   B   C
A is the biggest.

Formation of Superlative Adjectives

As with comparative adjectives, there are two ways to form a superlative adjective:

• short adjectives: add "-est"
• long adjectives: use "most"

We also usually add 'the' at the beginning.

Short adjectives
1-syllable adjectives	old, fast
2-syllable adjectives ending in -y	happy, easy
RULE: add "-est"	old → the oldest
Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -st	late → the latest
Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last consonant	big → the biggest
Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i	happy → the happiest

Long adjectives
2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y	modern, pleasant
all adjectives of 3 or more syllables	expensive, intellectual
RULE: use "most"	modern → the most modern expensive → the most expensive

With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use "-est" OR "most":

quiet → the quietest/most quiet
clever → the cleverest/most clever
narrow → the narrowest/most narrow
simple → the simplest/most simple

Exception: The following adjectives have irregular forms:

• good → the best
• bad → the worst
• far → the farthest/furthest

Use of Superlative Adjectives

We use a superlative adjective to describe one thing in a group of three or more things. Look at these examples:

• John is 1m75. David is 1m80. Chris is 1m85. Chris is the tallest.
• Canada, China and Russia are big countries. But Russia is the biggest.
• Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.