USE: The superlative is used to compare one

member of a group with the whole group (including

the member).

FORM:
Short adjectives: the + adjective + -est
Long adjectives: the most + adjective

Irregular adjectives:
good – the best
bad – the worst
far – the farthest/ the furthest

Henry David Tom Spelling rules (relevant for short adjectives):

Adjectives ending in –e: Adjectives ending in consonant + Adjectives ending in

-y: consonant, vowel, consonant
add only –st change the y into i and add –est (stress on the last syllable):
e.g. wide – the widest e.g. pretty – the prettiest double the final consonant and
add -est
e.g. slim – the slimmest

It’s your turn now. Answer about the picture above.
1. Who’s the tallest?
------Henry-------------------------------------------
2. Who’s the thinnest?
-------------Tom--------------------------------------
3. Who’s the shortest?
-------------David-------------------------------------
4. Who has got the spikiest hair?
------Tom----------------------------------------------
5. Who has got the biggest nose?
--------Henry-----------------------------------------
6. Who has got the smallest nose?
---------David-----------------------------------------
7. Who has got the fewest hair?
----------

Write the superlative form of the following short adjectives in the correct column.

nice good fat light thin bad long happy far

young crazy dark white easy big tiny large wide slim

_____young______ ____nice________ _____thin_______ _____crazy_______ ____good_______

_____long_______ ____white_______ ______fat_______ ______easy______ ______far_______
_______light_____ _____large_______ _____slim_______ _____tiny________ _____bad______
_______dark_____ _____wide_______ _____big________ _____happy______
________________ ________________ _________ ________________
_ _
General rule Adjectives ending in Adjectives ending in Adjectives ending in Irregular
–e consonant, vowel, consonant + -y: adjectives
consonant
a
Fill in the table below with the superlative of the adjectives given.

ADJECTIVE SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVE SUPERLATIVE

1. rich richest 9. dirty dirtiest

2. poor poorest 10. cheap cheapest

3. wet wettest 11. safe safest

4. long longest 12. attractive the most attractive

5. young youngest 13. understanding the most understanding

6. old oldest 14. beautiful the most beautiful

7. good best 15. intelligent the most intelligent

8. bad worst 16. attentive the most attentive

Now fill in the gaps with the superlative of the adjectives given in brackets.

1. Paul has got ---------------------------the most expensive--------------------------- (expensive) car I know.

2. My house is ----------------------------the biggest------------------------------------------ (big) in my street.

3. Summer is -----------------------the hottest---------------------------------- (hot) season of the year.

4. Sara is really intelligent. In fact she is ------------the most inttelligent-------- (intelligent) person I know.

5. Today I’ve seen ---------------------the most charming------------------------- (charming) scene of my life.

6. Our class is -------------------the noisiest--------------------------- (noisy) of the school. I wish it wouldn’t!

7. -------------------------the most dangerous---------------------------- (dangerous) animals are in the jungle.

8. Fran hates snakes. She thinks snakes ---------are the most disgusting------ (disgusting) animals on Earth.

9. Many children say pizza is -------------the best------------------------------ (good) food they can eat.

10. Mathematics is ---------------the most difficult------------------ (difficult) subject we have this year.

Answer the questions about your class. Use the superlative.

1. Who is the tallest of your class? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Who is the thinnest? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Who has got the curliest hair? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Who has got the strongest muscles? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Who has got the longest name? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Who has got the largest shoe? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Who is the most understanding? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Who is the most punctual? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Who is the funniest? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Who is the most hard-working? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------