What Is a Superlative Adjective

The superlative is used to say what thing, person, or idea

has the most of a particular quality.
A superlative adjective compares three or more
nouns. This takes the comparison of nouns to the
highest degree. An example would be: My mothers
cooking is the best. The rules for making superlative
adjectives are almost identical to the rules for making
comparative adjectives. They are:
FORMING THE SUPERLATIVE
Form
Rule
For example
Words of one syllableAdd -st to the
wide - widest
ending in 'e'.
end of the word.
The Amazon River is the widest river in the world.
Words
of
oneDouble
the
syllable, with oneconsonant and
big - biggest
vowel
and
oneadd -est to the
consonant at the end.end of the word.
In 2010 a dog called Giant George was given the title
of the biggest dog in the world.
Words
of
one
syllable, with more
Add - est to the
than one vowel or
high - highest
end of the word.
more
than
one
consonant at the end.
Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the word.
(But it isn't the tallest mountain in the world.)
Words
of
twoChange 'y' to 'i',happy
syllables, ending inand add -est tohappiest

the end of the

word.
In 2013 Australia was named the happiest country in
the world.
Words
of
twoPlace 'the most'
beautiful - the
syllables or more, notbefore
the
most beautiful
ending in 'y'.
adjective.
Some people say that the Maldives have the most
beautiful beaches in the world.
'y'.

Don't forget that some adjectives are irregular: 'good' becomes 'the best'
'bad' becomes 'the worst'
'far' becomes 'the furthest'
For example:
"Jill is the best student in the class ."
"Jack is the worst student in the class."
"In our solar system the planet Pluto is the
furthest planet from the Sun."
!Note - Have you noticed that these superlatives are
preceded by 'the'.
For example:

 "The Rio de la Plata river, on the southeast

coastline of South America, is the widest river in
the world."
According to the List of World records Carol
Yager
(1960-1994),
from
Michigan,
is the fattest person ever to live, weighing 725
kg (1,600 lb).
"Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the
world."
"I think that Castle Combe is the prettiest village
in England."
"Arguably, Rome is the most beautiful city in the
world."
Superlatives with Adjectives
Superlatives indicate the maximum amount of an adjective,
usually described as "the most" or "the least"
el/la + menos + adjective + de (least of) OR
el/la + ms + adjective + de (most of)

Mi hermano es la persona menos responsable de la

familia. (My brother is the least responsible person of
the family.)

Mi madre es la ms inteligente de la familia. (My

mother is the most intelligent person of the family.)

Examples
Adjectives

of

Superlative

Perhaps the best way to get a clear idea of

superlative adjectives is to show examples of regular
adjectives and their comparative and superlative
forms. Here is a list of several common adjectives
and their degrees of comparison.

Regular

Comparative

Superlative

sweet

sweeter

sweetest

angry

angrier

angriest

bright

brighter

brightest

calm

calmer

calmest

cold

colder

coldest

cool

cooler

coolest

curly

curlier

curliest

early

earlier

earliest

rich

richer

richest

lovely

lovelier

loveliest

smart

smarter

smartest

simple

simpler

simplest

famous

more famous

most famous

immense

more immense most

immense
long

longer

longest

perfect

more perfect

most perfect

quick

quicker

quickest

thin

thinner

thinnest

Superlative Adjective Examples with "Est"

Big - biggest
Black - blackest
Bold - boldest
Brave - bravest
Bright - brightest
Cheap - cheapest
Clean - cleanest
Clever - cleverest
Cold - coldest
Dull - dullest
Faint - faintest
Few - fewest
Gentle - gentlest
Grand - grandest
Grave - gravest
Great - greatest
High - highest
Kind - kindest
Loud - loudest

Moist - moistest
Narrow - narrowest
Nice - nicest
Odd- oddest
Proud - proudest
Pure - purest
Quiet - quietest
Rare - rarest
Rich - richest
Ripe - ripest
Rough - roughest
Rude - rudest
Safe - safest
Shallow - shallowest
Simple - simplest
Smooth - smoothest
Strange- strangest
Strict - strictest
True - truest
Weird - weirdest
Young - youngest
Superlative Adjectives that Change a "Y" to an "Iest"

Angry - angriest
Bloody - bloodiest
Bossy - bossiest
Busy - busiest
Chewy - chewiest

Chubby - chubbiest
Classy - classiest
Cloudy - cloudiest
Clumsy - clumsiest
Creamy - creamiest
Creepy - creepiest
Crunchy - crunchiest
Curly - curliest
Deadly - deadliest
Dirty - dirtiest
Early - earliest
Easy- easiest
Filthy - filthiest
Flaky - flakiest
Funny - funniest
Gloomy - gloomiest
Greasy - greasiest
Greedy - greediest
Healthy - healthiest
Heavy - heaviest
Hungry - hungriest
Itchy - itchiest
Juicy- juiciest
Lazy - laziest
Lonely - loneliest
Pretty - prettiest
Roomy - roomiest

Scary - scariest
Shiny - shiniest
Skinny - skinniest
Smelly - smelliest
Wealthy - wealthiest
Windy - windiest
Worthy - worthiest
Superlative Adjectives that Add "Most" or "Least"

Auspicious - most auspicious

Beautiful - most beautiful
Famous - most famous
Gullible - most gullible
Immense - most immense
Perfect - least perfect
Powerful - least powerful
Wonderful - most wonderful
Upset - least upset
Adjectives that Are Irregular

Irregular adjectives use a different word instead of

adding an "er," "est" or "more" for their comparative
and superlative forms: (The adjective is shown,
followed by the comparative and the superlative
forms)

Bad - worse - worst

Far - farther - farthest (physical distance)

Far - further - furthest (meaning additional)
Good - better - best
Little - less - least
Many - more - most
Old - elder - eldest (for people in a family or
group)

EXERCISES
Complete the sentences.
Use the superlative
brackets.

form

of

the

adjectives

in

1.

Who is the

(tall) person in your

family?
2.
My mum is the

(good) cook in the

world.
3.
December is the

(cold) month of

the year in my country.

4.
What's the
(dangerous) animal
in the world?
5.
Ethan is the

(happy) boy that I

know.
6.
Where are the

(nice) beaches in

your country?
7.
She bought the

(big) cake in the

shop.
8.
Who is the

(famous) singer in

your country?
Fill in the correct form of the words in brackets
(comparative or superlative).
1.

My house is (big)

2.

This flower is (beautiful)

3.

This is the (interesting)

4.

Non-smokers usually live (long)

bigger

than yours.
than that one.
book I have ever read.
than smokers.

5.

Which is the (dangerous)

animal in the world?

6.

A holiday by the sea is (good)

than a holiday in

the mountains.
7.
It is strange but often a coke is (expensive)
a beer.
8.
Who is the (rich)
9.

woman on earth?

The weather this summer is even (bad)

summer.
10.
He was the (clever)
11.

Peter is

(intelligent) pupil of the

(long) canyon

the
(deep)

But

is

14. John Wayne was

Hollywood.
15. Marie is

than last

thief of all.

school.
12. The Grand Canyon is
in
13.

than

Hell's

world.
Canyon.

(famous) cowboy in
(tall) girl in the town.

16. I am

(good) pupil in the class.

17. He is

(bad) pupil in the school.

18.

He

is

19. This dog is

20. You are

(fast)

boy

in

the

world.

(nice) in the country.

(funny) boy in the world.

HOW QUESTIONS

HOW is used to describe the manner that

something is done. (= I want to know the way)

 How do you cook paella?

How does he know the answer?
How can I learn English quickly?
With HOW there are a number of other
expressions that are used in questions:
How much refers to a quantity or a price
(uncountable nouns)
How much time do you have to finish the
test?
How much is the jacket on display in the
window?
How much money will I need?
How many refers to a quantity (countable
nouns)
How many days are there in April?
How many people live in this city?
How many brothers and sister do you
have?
Read more about How much vs. How many.
How often refers to frequency

 How often do you visit your grandmother?

How often does she study?
How often are you sick?
How far refers to distance
How far is the university from your house?
How far is the bus stop from here?
How old- refers age
How old are you? Im 16.
How come- refers reason
How come I didnt see you at the party?

How old? - Qu edad? Cun viejo?

How soon? - Cun pronto?
How early? - Cun temprano?
How late? - Cun tarde?
How fast? - Cun rpido? Con qu velocidad?
How big? - Qu tamao? Cun grande?
How far? - A qu distancia? Cun lejos?
How tall? - Qu estatura? Cun alto?
How deep? - Qu profundidad? Cun profundo?
How heavy? - Qu peso? Cun pesado?
How else? - De qu otra manera?
How old? - Qu edad? Cun viejo?
How soon? - Cun pronto?

How early? - Cun temprano?

How late? - Cun tarde?

How old is your brother?

Qu edad tiene tu hermano?
How old is this beautiful vase?
Cun viejo es este hermoso jarrn?
How soon will your friend get the money?
Cun pronto conseguir el dinero tu amigo ?
How early do you get up in the weekends?
Cun temprano te levantas los fines de semana?
How late does your sister go to sleep
during the week?
Cun tarde va a dormir tu hermana durante la
semana?
How fast? - Cun rpido? Con qu velocidad?
How big? - Qu tamao? Cun grande?
How far? - A qu distancia? Cun lejos?
How fast can you ride on bike?
Cun rpido puedes ir en bicicleta?
How fast does Carol drive in the highway?
A qu velocidad maneja Carol en la autopista?
How big is the wedding cake that
Margaret is preparing?
Qu tamao tiene la torta de boda que est
preparando Margaret?
How big is the country house where you
spend your holidays?
Cun grande es la casa de campo donde pasas tus
vacaciones?
How far is the school from your house?
A qu distancia est la escuela de tu casa?
How far is the bakers?
Cun lejos est la panadera?

How tall? - Qu estatura? Cun alto?

How deep? - Qu profundidad? Cun
profundo?
How heavy? - Qu peso? Cun pesado?

How tall is your husband?

Qu estatura tiene tu marido?
How tall is the tree that is planted on
Anne's garden?
Cun alto es el rbol que est plantado en el jardn
de Anne?
How deep is this pool?
Qu profundidad tiene esta piscina?
How deep is the Nile river?
Cun profundo es el ro Nilo?
How heavy is that big gold bar?
Qu peso tiene esa gran barra de oro?
How heavy is the grand piano you bought?
Cun pesado es el piano de cola que compraste?