Intermediate Grammar – Superlative Adjectives

The following lesson is for intermediate students. If you are not sure of your English level, take our test!

You can find all this information, plus speaking, writing, vocabulary exercises and more on the ABA English Course Unit 82 -Boys.

One-Syllable Adjectives – Superlative form

Remember how comparative adjectives worked?

For example: 

long – longer

Well, with the superlatives, the endings are different.

The superlative form of one-syllable adjectives normally ends in “-est”.

For example: 

long – longest

And before superlatives, we use the definite article “the”.

Examples: 

Linda is 28 and her best friend, Clair, is 29. Claire is the oldest and Linda is the youngest.

Yesterday I saw the fattest cat in the world: it was the size of a small dog!

Two-Syllable Adjectives ending in “Y” – Superlative form

Two-syllable adjectives ending in “-y” are very common and their ending is “-iest”, so the “y” changes for an “i” + “-est”

Examples: 

Hilary is the funniest sister.

I like the pink dress; it’s the prettiest.

Longer Adjectives – Superlative form

Ok, with two-syllable adjectives not ending in “-y” and with longer adjectives of three syllables or more, we use the adverb “most”.

For example: 

expensive – the most expensive

comfortable – the most comfortable

Note that, in contrast, when we want to express the idea of “not so much”, we use “the least”. “The least” is the opposite of “the most”.

Examples: 

Mandarins are the least expensive fruit in winter.

This puzzle is the most challenging I have ever done.

Irregular Comparative and Superlatives Forms

The following adjectives are very common and, unfortunately, have irregular comparative and superlative forms. We recommend you try to memorize these, since you will be using them a lot!

Good

Comparative – better than

Superlative – the best

Bad

Comparative – worse than

Superlative – the worst

Little

Comparative – less

Superlative – least

Much

Comparative – more

Superlative – most

Far

Comparative – further than (farther than)

Superlative – the furthest (the farthest)

Unit 82 -Boys

Well done! You just revised the grammar from Unit 82!

In Unit 82 -Boys, you will meet Valerie and Tanya. Find out their very different taste in boys!

By watching ABA Films, you will practice your listening comprehension. Record your voice and compare phrases to improve your pronunciation and gain fluency by interpreting different roles. You will also learn new vocabulary and review the unit’s grammar lesson.