Superlatives

Superlatives in English and Spanish

• Both languages use superlatives to express extremes of qualities.

Formation of Superlatives

• Superlatives are constructed by preceding the noun with a definite article.

• The preposition "de" translates to "in" or "of" in English.

Omission of Noun

• The noun may be omitted if context makes the person, place, or thing clear.

Meaning of Más and Menos

• ¡Atención!

  • "Más" generally means "more," but when used after el, la, los, or las, it means "most."

  • "Menos" can mean both "less" and "least."

  • Example:

    • "Es el café más rico del país." (It’s the most delicious coffee in the country.)

    • "Es el menú menos caro de todos éstos." (It is the least expensive menu of all of these.)

Irregular Superlative Forms

• Some adjectives have irregular superlative forms:

  • bueno/a (good) ➔ el/la mejor (the best)

  • malo/a (bad) ➔ el/la peor (the worst)

  • grande (grown/adult) ➔ el/la mayor (the oldest)

  • pequeño/a (young) ➔ el/la menor (the youngest)

  • joven (young) ➔ el/la menor (the youngest)

  • viejo/a (old) ➔ el/la mayor (the oldest)

Absolute Superlative

• The absolute superlative translates to "extremely," "super," or "very."

• It is formed by dropping the final vowel of most adjectives/adverbs and adding -ísimo/a(s).

Spelling Changes in Absolute Superlatives

• Be aware of specific spelling changes when forming the absolute superlative:

  • rico ➔ riquísimo

  • largo ➔ larguísimo

  • feliz ➔ felicísimo

  • fácil ➔ facilísimo

  • joven ➔ jovencísimo

  • trabajador ➔ trabajadorcísimo