Comparatives and Superlatives

Superlatives

For 1 syllable adjectives we add est to make a noun superlative:

Noun 1	Be	the	Superlative	Category
The Nile	is	the	longest	river.
Mount Everest	is	the	tallest	mountain.
The Cheetah	is	the	fastest	land animal.

If the adjective has consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) sounds and the last consonant is 1 letter, we double the last consonant and add est:

Adjective	C	V	C	C	est	Comparative Adjective
big	b	i	g	g	est	biggest
hot	h	o	t	t	est	hottest
thin	th	i	n	n	est	thinnest

We change y to iest for 2 syllable words ending in y:

Adjective	Superlative Adjective
easy	easiest
friendly	friendliest

For other adjectives with 2 syllables or more, we use most with the normal adjective:

Noun/Activity 1	Be	the	most	Adjective	Category
The raven	is	the	most	intelligent	animal.
Sea fishing	is	the	most	dangerous	job.
Mumbai	is	the	most	crowded	city.

Some superlatives are irregular:

Adjective	Superlative
good	the best
bad	the worst
far	the farthest/the furthest (AmE/BrE)
fun	the most fun

Tip!
* farthest is American English (AmE).
* furthest is British English (BrE).

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