• The basics

Look at the following examples:

1. US university tuition fees are the highest in the world.

2. Compared to number of hours of lectures and tutorials in the UK, the US and France, French have the longest working week.

HIGH, and LONG are short adjectives with 1 syllable.

In the superlative  form, you add – est.

 

3. According to research published in 2017, students from Central America are the happiest on the planet.

HAPPY is an adjective with 2 syllables BUT it ends in –y. You add – est and pay attention to the spelling: -y → -i

 

4. A university in the US will not only be looking for the most intelligent applicants, but also the most well-rounded and most involved in other fields such as music, sport and community service.

 

INTELLIGENT, WELL-ROUNDED, INVOLVED are longer adjectives with 2 or more syllables. You add the most + adjective.

 

5. In the Shanghai Ranking, Oxford and Cambridge are considered to be among the best universities in the world.

BEST is superlative form of GOOD.

 

Exceptions

Like in French, some adjectives are irregular in their superlative form

Adjectives

Superlative Form

Good

Bad

Far

Little

Much

The best

The worst

The farthest/furthest

The Least

The most

 

 

  • One of the…

Look at the following examples:

1. Cambridge University is one of the most prestigious universities in the world but also one of the most difficult universities to get into.


The expression = one of the + (superlative form) + (noun in its plural form).


Download the page "Superlatives"


Last modified: Sunday, 1 September 2019, 12:31 PM