Superlative adjectives compare a group of things. Here is an example:
- Kevin is the oldest person in the park.
Three people are in the park. Tom is 20. Susan is 25. Kevin is 30. Therefore, Kevin is the oldest person in the park. This is similar to saying Kevin is older than Tom and older than Susan.
Use superlative adjectives when you have more than two nouns to compare.
Here are a few more examples:
- I am the oldest person in my family.
- She is the tallest girl in the class.
Superlative Adjective Structure
Follow a similar structure to comparative adjectives. They use EST and THE MOST.
EST
Subject + BE + The + Adjective + EST
Examples:
- I am the oldest person in my class.
- My brother is the youngest person in his class.
THE MOST
Subject + BE + The + Most + Adjective
Examples:
- This is the most expensive jacket in the store.
- She is the most beautiful woman I know.
Here is the chart to show you when to use EST and when to use MOST.
| Base Adjective | Add… | Example | |
| 3 Syllables or more |
the most |
beautiful | the most beautiful |
| 2 Syllables or less |
est | tall | the tallest |
If you follow the rules above, you will use superlative adjectives correctly. Now you can check your knowledge with tese tests: