What are superlative adjectives?

Adjectives play a crucial role in language and writing. They modify nouns, adding attributes or qualities that define the subject. When writing, it might be important to convey the exceptionality of a subject’s quality or characteristic. You may want to illustrate not just that you ran fast in your competition but you were faster than all your competitors. This is when superlative adjectives come into play, helping us demonstrate when a noun is at the pinnacle of its category. Learn what superlative adjectives are, how to use them in your writing, and how they differ from comparative adjectives.

What is a superlative adjective?

Superlative adjectives are used when comparing three or more people or things to emphasize that a specific noun is of the highest degree or ranks at the top of its category. To indicate this, you can add the suffix “-est” to short adjectives that modify them, and for long adjectives or those that already have a suffix, use the adverb “most.” Let’s look at some examples to understand how superlative adjectives work:

Celine ran the fastest mile in class, finishing it in under five minutes.
The first interviewee was the most qualified candidate for the position.
Class participation is the most important component of your grade.

In addition to each adjective having an “-est” suffix or using “most” as an adverb, superlative adjectives use the definite article, the. This article is employed to show we’re only talking about one thing to demonstrate a noun is at the top of its category.

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With 30 medals, Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in World Championship history.

Alternatively, you can also use possessive adjectives. Possessive adjectives indicate the person a subject belongs to, creating a group of reference.

The poetry class agreed their latest submissions were their best work so far.

However, as demonstrated by the previous example, there are exceptions to superlative adjective rules. For example, the words “good” and “bad” don’t use the suffix “-est”. Instead, we use the words “best” and “worst”, respectively.

Professor Merkel is the worst history professor.

What is the difference between comparative and superlative adjectives

When we want to compare different nouns and establish a categorical hierarchy, we will use superlative or comparative adjectives. As stated earlier, superlative adjectives showcase when a noun or thing is at the top of a category. Comparative adjectives compare two things, showing which one has a higher or lower degree of specified quality. Look at how the following examples employ comparative adjectives:

The gold medal-winning gymnast is more famous than her husband.
When we lost the quarter-final match, I was angrier than my teammates.

In contrast to the “-est” suffix used in superlative adjectives, comparative adjectives employ an “-er” suffix. If an adjective has more than two syllables, you can add “more” or “less” before the adjective. Comparative adjectives are essential in sentence structure, as they organize and evaluate the degree of a noun’s quality differently than superlative adjectives.

Superlative adjectives and comparative adjectives are integral components of language. They help us highlight when a person or thing embodies a characteristic more than others, allowing us to draw distinctions between nouns in a specific category and show which is the best. The next time you need to show which noun is on top, remember how to make your adjective superlative. For extra assistance with sentence construction and grammar, check out these writing tips.

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