SUPERLATIVES
What is the superlative in English for?
To
understand the superlative in English, the first thing you need to know is that
adjectives have three different degrees:
·
An adjective to a positive degree is limited to describing a quality.
Sandra is tall.
·
An adjective in a comparative degree emphasizes the inferiority,
equality or superiority of one person or thing over another. Sandra is taller
than Mike.
·
And finally, an adjective in superlative degree indicates that the
subject possesses the quality in the highest degree and above all others.
Sandra is the tallest person in her office.
Therefore,
we use the superlative when we want to emphasize that the subject is at the
upper or lower end of a quality.
How is the superlative formed in English?
To be
successful in forming the superlative in English, point out these rules !:
·
The superlative is always preceded by the determined article: the
fastest, the tallest, the most intelligent.
·
In the case of one-syllable adjectives, we form the superlative by
adding -est at the end: tall --- tallest.
·
If the adjective has two syllables, we can add -est or put more in front
of the adjective. In many cases both forms are used, but one is more common
than the other.
·
If the adjective has three syllables or more, we will form the
comparative by adding most: important --- the most important.
·
When the adjective ends in a consonant + vowel + consonant, the last
consonant must be repeated before adding the ending: fat --- fattest.
·
And if it ends in -y, we should change it to an i: happy --- happiest.
But all the
rules have their exceptions, and the superlative in English is no exception.
And it is that some adjectives are irregular in their comparative and
superlative forms. These are some examples of the most common irregular superlatives:
- Bad --- worse
- Good --- best
- Far --- furthest / farthest
- Little --- least
- Much --- most
