Superlatives

Equal and unequal comparisons of nouns and adjectives were presented in a previous lessons. 

This lesson presents a new type of comparison called a superlative.

This lesson:

  • Explains how to form superlative comparisons

  • Presents irregular superlative comparisons
When you complete this lesson, you will:

  • know how to say who is the tallest, smartest, fastest of a group

  • be able to express which is the best, worst, oldest, and youngest of a group

 Learning Objective:

To Form Superlatives

How to Form Superlatives

The superlatives (los superlativos) are a special type of comparison.

Superlatives express “the most” or “the least” of a quality in a given set.

Superlatives can be formed with most adjectives. 

Many English superlative forms are created by adding -EST (fastest, tallest, simplest, etc.).

Other English superlative forms are created using “the most” (the most beautiful, the most elegant, the most sophisticated).

Always use the definite article to create superlatives.

Here is the formula for creating superlatives in Spanish:

  •  el/la/los/las (noun) más (adjetivo) de (grupo)

Modelo:

Read the following examples out loud. You should be able to figure out what they mean.

ESPAÑOL
Elon Musk es la persona más rica del mundo.
El mandarín es el idioma más difícil de todos.
Las secoyas son los árboles más altos del mundo.
El fútbol es el deporte más popular de todos.

Remember that, in Spanish, the adjective we are comparing must agree in gender and number with the subject of the sentence.

Irregular Superlatives

Remember that in both English and Spanish, some adjectives have special comparative forms.

The irregular comparative forms also have irregular superlative forms.

Study the following irregular superlative forms.

ESPAÑOL ENGLISH
mejor / mejores ➔ el mejor / las mejores
better ➔ the best
peor / peores ➔ la peor / los peores
worse ➔ worst
menor / menores ➔ el menor / las menores
younger ➔ youngest
mayor / mayores ➔ la mayor / los mayores
older ➔ olderest

Although they are not all shown in the chart above, Spanish superlatives have four forms as indicated by the definite article (el, la, los, las). 

Modelo:

Read the following examples out loud. You should be able to figure out what they mean.

ESPAÑOL
Lionel Messi es el mejor jugador de fútbol este año.
Los estudiantes de español son los mejores estudiantes de la universidad.
Los exámenes de química son los peores exámenes de todos los exámenes.
Mi hija es la menor de la familia.
Mi madre es la mayor de la familia.

A practicar

Carefully study and practice pronouncing the superlatives presented above.

Try replacing the adjectives with other Spanish adjectives to form new superlatives.

It’s important to practice the patterns.

Using the prompts in the exercise below, form superlatives about Nancy, Mónica, Michelle, and Melissa’s friend. Melissa is the best and most extreme in every way.

Here is an example:

  • ser feliz

Nancy es la más feliz de todas.

Make sure that all adjectives agree with the nouns they modify. 

Nancy
1. ser alto
_______________________________________________________________________
2. ser inteligente
_______________________________________________________________________
3. ser bonito
_______________________________________________________________________
4.ser bueno
_______________________________________________________________________
5. ser viejo
_______________________________________________________________________
If you can form superlatives with the prompts above, you are ready for the next lesson. 

Thank you for studying with us!

This lesson is part of Chapter 2, Module 7.

2.7 is called COMPARISONS and includes the following lessons:

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