Grammar Guide

What is it?

Superlative adjectives are used to compare one person, thing, place, or situation with all others in a group.

They show the highest or lowest degree of a quality.

In English, superlative adjectives normally use the definite article the.

• tall → the tallest
• fast → the fastest
• beautiful → the most beautiful
• expensive → the most expensive

Common forms:

When to use

Use a superlative adjective when comparing one person or thing with a whole group.

• Emma is the tallest student in the class.
• This is the cheapest phone in the store.

Use superlatives to describe the highest degree of a quality.

• It is the hottest day of the week.
• He is the fastest runner on the team.

Use the most + adjective with many longer adjectives.

• This is the most interesting book here.
• That is the most expensive restaurant in town.

Use the least + adjective for the lowest degree of a quality.

• This is the least difficult exercise.
• It is the least expensive option.

Structure

For many short adjectives, add -est.

Subject + be + the + adjective-est + noun/complement

• tall → the tallest
• small → the smallest
• fast → the fastest

Example:

Leo is the tallest student in the class.

If an adjective ends in -e, add only -st.

• nice → the nicest
• large → the largest

If a short adjective ends in one vowel + one consonant, the final consonant is often doubled.

• big → the biggest
• hot → the hottest

If an adjective ends in consonant + -y, change y to i and add -est.

• happy → the happiest
• easy → the easiest

For many longer adjectives, use the most.

Subject + be + the most + adjective + noun/complement

• the most beautiful
• the most comfortable
• the most important

Example:

This is the most comfortable chair in the room.

To show the lowest degree, use the least.

Subject + be + the least + adjective + noun/complement

Example:

This is the least expensive hotel nearby.

Some common adjectives have irregular superlative forms.

The group being compared is often introduced with in or of.

• the tallest student in the class
• the best day of the week

Examples

1. Mia is the tallest girl in her class.
2. This is the smallest room in the house.
3. August is the hottest month here.
4. That was the easiest question on the test.
5. This is the most comfortable chair in the office.
6. He bought the most expensive phone in the store.
7. This is the least difficult task today.
8. She is the best player on the team.
9. That was the worst day of my week.
10. It is the furthest shop from my home.

Exceptions

Some adjectives have irregular superlative forms.

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

Do not normally use both most and -est with the same adjective.

Use:

the tallest

not:

the most tallest

The definite article the is normally used before a superlative adjective when the adjective describes a noun.

• She is the fastest runner.
• This is the best option.

When a possessive word already identifies the noun, the is not used.

• my best friend
• her biggest problem
• our most important task

Some two-syllable adjectives can use either -est or most, depending on the adjective and usage.

• the cleverest / the most clever
• the quietest / the most quiet

Common mistakes

1. Incorrect: She is tallest student in the class. Correct: She is the tallest student in the class. Explanation: Superlative adjectives normally use the before the adjective.

2. Incorrect: This is most expensive car here. Correct: This is the most expensive car here. Explanation: Use the before most + adjective in a superlative.

3. Incorrect: He is the most tallest boy in the group. Correct: He is the tallest boy in the group. Explanation: Do not use both most and -est with the same adjective.

4. Incorrect: This is the beautifullest place here. Correct: This is the most beautiful place here. Explanation: Longer adjectives usually use the most instead of -est.

5. Incorrect: Today is the hotest day of the week. Correct: Today is the hottest day of the week. Explanation: Double the final consonant in hot before adding -est.

6. Incorrect: This is the easyest question. Correct: This is the easiest question. Explanation: With adjectives ending in consonant + y, change y to i before adding -est.

7. Incorrect: He is my the best friend. Correct: He is my best friend. Explanation: Do not use the when a possessive word such as my already identifies the noun.