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.

In the example below, "biggest" is the superlative form of the adjective "big":

A B C

A is the biggest.

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

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
Normal 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
Normal rule: use "most"	modern → the most modern expensive → the most expensive

Tip:

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 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.

If we talk about the three planets Earth, Mars and Jupiter, we can use superlative adjectives as shown in the table below:

	Earth	Mars	Jupiter
Dia- meter (km)	12,760	6,790	142,800	Jupiter is the biggest.
Dis- tance from Sun (million km)	150	228	778	Jupiter is the most distant from the Sun.
Length of day (hours)	24	25	10	Jupiter has the shortest day.
Moons	1	2	16	Jupiter has the most moons.
Surface temp. (degrees Celcius)	22	-23	-150	Jupiter is the coldest.

Tip:
When we compare one thing with itself, we do not use "the":

• England is coldest in winter. (not the coldest)
• My boss is most generous when we get a big order. (not the most generous)