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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 |
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 »
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