Grammar
Superlative adjectives: describe the highest degree
You are choosing a café from five options. You can say, "This is the cheapest café on this street." Cheapest tells us that no other café in that group costs less.
Use a superlative adjective to describe the highest or lowest degree in a group.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
It is the most beautiful view in the city. /ɪt ɪz ə məʊst ˈbjuː.tɪ.fəl vjuː ɪn ðə ˈsɪt.i/
The short answer
Use the + adjective ending in -est for many short adjectives, or the most + adjective for many longer adjectives. Name the group when it helps: the tallest student in the class or the most useful app on my phone.
Maya is the tallest player on the team.
Why it works: Maya is compared with every player on one team, so tallest is a superlative.
5 more examples
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That is the smallest room in the hotel.
Smallest identifies one room with the least space in the hotel.
Not this:That room is
small. What changes: Small describes one room. It does not compare that room with the whole hotel. -
This is the most comfortable chair in the office.
Comfortable is a longer adjective, so most comes before it.
Not this:This chair is
comfortable. What changes: Comfortable gives a description without identifying the highest degree in a group. -
Friday was the busiest day of the week.
Busy changes y to i before -est.
Not this:Friday was
busy. What changes: Busy describes Friday but does not compare it with the other days. -
This is the best route to the station.
Best is the irregular superlative form of good.
Not this:This is a
goodroute to the station. What changes: Good gives a positive description without saying that this route is above all the others. -
The library is the quietest place in the building.
The group is the places in one building.
Not this:The library is
quiet. What changes: Quiet is a description. Quietest identifies the lowest level of noise in the group.
Read the full guide
First, ask whether the sentence compares one thing with every member of a group. If it does, choose a superlative form. Then check the adjective's spelling and add the before the superlative in the usual pattern.
Choose a superlative for the whole group
Use a superlative when one person, place, or thing has an extreme quality among all the members of a group. Ask, Who or what is at the top or bottom of this group? The group may follow in, of, or on.
Leo is the youngest person in our office.
Young describes Leo's age. The youngest compares Leo with every person in the office.
Add -est to many short adjectives
Many short adjectives form the superlative by adding -est. Common examples include tall to tallest, short to shortest, and cheap to cheapest. Put the before the superlative in the usual sentence pattern.
| Adjective | Superlative | Example |
|---|---|---|
| tall | the tallest | Omar is the tallest student in the class. |
| cheap | the cheapest | This is the cheapest ticket for Saturday. |
| cold | the coldest | January is the coldest month here. |
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Not this:
This is the cheap ticket for Saturday.Say: This is the cheapest ticket for Saturday.
Cheap describes the ticket. Cheapest says that it costs less than every other ticket in the group.
-
Not this:
Omar is tallest student in the class.Say: Omar is the tallest student in the class.
Use the before a superlative adjective in this usual pattern.
Check spelling before you add -est
Some adjectives change spelling. Drop a final silent e and add -st: large becomes largest. Double the final consonant in a short consonant-vowel-consonant adjective: big becomes biggest. Change a final consonant plus y to iest: easy becomes easiest.
| Spelling pattern | Adjective | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| final silent e | large | largest |
| short consonant-vowel-consonant pattern | big | biggest |
| consonant plus y | easy | easiest |
The blue suitcase is the biggest bag on the belt.
Do not write bigest. Big has the short consonant-vowel-consonant spelling pattern, so the final g doubles before -est.
Use most with many longer adjectives
Many adjectives with two or more syllables use most before the adjective. Do not add -est to those forms. Useful examples include the most expensive, the most popular, and the most important.
That was the most interesting part of the tour.
Do not write the interestinger or the interestingest. Use the most interesting for the highest degree in the group.
Choose the usual form: the most expensive restaurant or the expensivest restaurant?
Use the most expensive restaurant. Expensive is a longer adjective, so most comes before it.
Learn common irregular superlatives
A few common adjectives do not use the usual spelling patterns. Learn their superlatives as complete forms. Good becomes best, bad becomes worst, and far can become farthest or furthest.
| Adjective | Superlative | Example |
|---|---|---|
| good | the best | This is the best time to call. |
| bad | the worst | Monday was the worst day for traffic. |
| far | the farthest or the furthest | Their house is the farthest from the station. |
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Not this:
This is the goodest option.Say: This is the best option.
Good has the irregular superlative form best.
-
Not this:
It was the baddest weather of the trip.Say: It was the worst weather of the trip.
Bad has the irregular superlative form worst.
Use the and make the group clear
A superlative usually uses the. Add the group after the adjective when the reader needs to know what is being compared. Use in for a place or category, of for a set, and on for a surface or list when those words fit the meaning.
It is the safest path in the park.
Asha chose the most practical of the three plans.
The safest path identifies one path among the paths in the park. Adding the group makes the comparison clear.
Before you go
Remember this
Use a superlative when one item has the highest or lowest degree in a group. Choose -est for many short adjectives, use most with many longer adjectives, check the spelling, and learn best and worst as irregular forms.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Superlative adjectives: describe the highest degree"
What is a superlative adjective?
A superlative adjective identifies the highest or lowest degree in a group. The tallest building in the city compares one building with all the other buildings in that city.
That is the smallest room in the hotel.
When do I use -est with an adjective?
Use -est with many short adjectives, such as tall, cheap, and cold. Check the spelling before you add the ending. Large becomes largest, and big becomes biggest.
That room is small.
Why does easy become easiest?
When an adjective ends in a consonant plus y, change y to i before adding -est. Easy becomes easiest, and busy becomes busiest.
This is the most comfortable chair in the office.
When should I use most before an adjective?
Use most with many longer adjectives, such as expensive, important, and comfortable. Say the most comfortable seat, not the comfortablest seat.
This chair is comfortable.
What are the superlative forms of good and bad?
Good becomes best, and bad becomes worst. These are irregular forms, so learn them as complete words instead of adding -est.
Friday was the busiest day of the week.