English Grammar (Superlatives): Lesson 3- Talking about Extremes

Today, we will be talking about Superlatives. This is a big change, of course, from what we saw yesterday.

What is the difference betwee Comparatives and Superlatives? Let’s look at the definitions below:

Comparatives: We are trying to find similarities or differences between two objects or two people, etc.

E.g. He is stronger than his younger brother.

Superlatives: We are trying to find the very high or very low degree of something or someone. The comparison is done against a group.

E.g. Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa.

(There are many mountains in Africa, but this particular mountain stands out.)

What do you think of the formation of Superlatives? Does this remind you of something?

Let’s have a look at a few examples. We have used different types of Adjectives.

The highest mountain in the whole world is Mount Everest.
The longest river in Africa is called the Nile.
What is the largest sea in the world?
Did you know that the longest bridge in the world is found in China? This Asian country also has the highest bridge in the entire world.
It is of no big surprise that the most visited monument is located in France.
The coldest country in the world is Kazakhstan.
I don’t know what the least visited country in the world is.
I am most comfortable travelling by train.
Jack is the fastest runner in our school.
He is the best student that I ever taught.

YOUR TURN: Find at least five examples of sentences with Superlatives. You can use any long or short Adjectives.

Just as we did with Comparatives, this picture clearly shows what happens to words ending with -IER and to those that have double letters.

Let’s look at a few more examples with Superlatives:

The busiest airport in the world is found in the U.S.A.
Russia is the biggest country in Europe.
She is the luckiest woman in my village. She won the lottery yesterday.
These are the dirtiest plates I have ever seen.
We are in the hottest part of the continent.
This clown is the funniest I’ve ever watched.
They are the thinniest people that have ever walked across a football pitch.
He is not the saddest boy amongst his friends.
I am the earliest! I will have my break soon.
She is the fussiest eater in the class.