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 |
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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
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Exception
The following adjectives have irregular forms:
- good > the best
- bad > the worst
- far > the furthest
Use of Superlative
Adjectives >>
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