Questions tagged [superlative-degree]
The form of an adjective or adverb ending with "-est" or "most".
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How should we describe the largest group in a set when its share accounts for less than 50%?
General idea
What is the best way to describe a group that has the largest share of something but doesn't have more than 50%? I'm tempted to use the word "most", but I mentally associate it ...
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When did double superlatives go out of fashion in English?
Today I learned that the correct/recommended form of English, only a few centuries ago, required using "more" and "most" together with adjectives that were already in (respectively)...
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Is there a rule distinguishing what kind of verbs can only take more/most?
My theory is that dynamic verbs can take either more/most or better/best but the meaning will change.
I sleep more than him.
This means I sleep longer hours (quantity) than him.
I sleep better than ...
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What is it called when X of Xs is used with superlative meaning?
I often come across expressions such as
the heaven of heavens (the highest of the heavens - YourDict)
the king of kings (which can mean the best/greatest of kings - FreeDict)
a lunatic of lunatics (...
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Need help with superlatives and comparisons [closed]
I'm unsure of how to handle the following situation, which deals with superlatives and comparisons in English.
Let's say basketball player Mr. A scored 50 points in a basketball game in 2010, his most ...
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What is the justification for using a hyphen with the superlative most in: the most-cited statistical papers
The term "the 100 most-cited statistical papers" is used to define "citation classics." I thought my foreign-speaking client was using the hyphen incorrectly, but this is how it is ...
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What’s grammatically incorrect in the phrase, “create the most impact the quickest?’
The entire sentence reads,
Choose a specific process that would create the most impact the quickest.
In other words, the resulting impact occurs more rapidly and more powerfully than that caused by ...
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What are the comparative/superlative forms of the adjective "well," meaning "in good health"?
If I can say, "He is well," meaning, "He is in good health," how do I express that he's in better health, or that he's in the best health ever? "He's weller"? "He's ...
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The city the closest to Istanbul
I see some examples with adjectives taking place after nouns they define like
I want to go to a city close to Istanbul
Have you ever had a friend kind to you?
But what about their -st or -most(...
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Is it correct to paraphrase "the most" as "one of the most"
I just want to know if I have paraphrased the following accurately or is there another way to paraphrase it?
The original sentence is:
Our previous study also demonstrated that PCP was the most ...
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BEST (singular noun; usually "the best") the most excellent thing or person
[singular] (usually "the best") the most excellent thing or person: We're the best of friends (= very close friends).
Yet, I do not know how to interpret it as a singular thing/person here. ...
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Superlative form of the adjective "little" for degree or intensity
Inflections of 'little' (adj):
For size or age:
Littler ("That tree is little, but the tree next
to it is even littler."). Littlest ("Theo is the littlest of my three
little brothers.&...
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Is "Our creamiest coffee, now creamier" correct?
Kopiko's tagline here in the Philippines became a hot topic. Others had been saying that it is grammatically wrong but others said that it is correct.
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The event before the latest one is "the last one"
Page 265 of the Collins English Usage reads
If one of a series of events is happening now or has just happened,
you refer to it as the latest one.
You refer to the event
before the latest one as the ...
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Is there a linguistic term for the phrases, which describe a noun, with subjective value (below)
a pitted excuse for a road
a big bear of a man
a gigantic furious beast of a man
a wisp of a boy/girl
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'quickest': adverb
Page 442 of Collins Cobuild English Usage reads
Quick is an adjective. You do not usually use it as an adverb. Instead you use
quickly.
In writing, you usually use more quickly.
He began to speak ...
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Can we say "Most Legendariest"? [duplicate]
I want to know if this sentence is correct. Can we say "Most Legendariest ....."? If not, what is the alternative I can use? Thank you very much.
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Is powerfulest a valid superlative?
Whenever I type powerfulest in a word document or on here it’s always flagged as a grammar error.
I immediately consulted google and found some entries in low end “dictionaries”, but came across this ...
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“The most of” as in “the biggest portion”?
I am not sure if this type of usage of “the most of” is correct.
If someone can help clarify, I would really appreciate it.
Ex: Out of the three siblings, John received the most of the estate their ...
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Absolute superlative
"2020 is said to be a darkest year"
I learned in my book that the superlative with most is sometimes used when there's no idea of comparison but to show the existence of a quality of a very ...
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The usage of "most" instead of "more"
Regarding the following sentence,
The study noted that pregnant women need to have healthy diets to reduce risk of developing gestational diabetes, a form of diabetes that is most common among ...
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superlative or comparison
I have a question about some sentences.
John is better than Sarah and Mary.
or
John is the best.
If I'm comparing three things (John, Sarah, Mary), why am I using a comparative adjective?
I ...
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Comparing adverbs in comparative and superlative forms
Comparing with adverbs in comparative or superlative form: When would us louder / loudest and when would you use more loudly / most loudly
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the/a right person and the tallest person
Why is it 'tallest person' always only takes 'the,' and that 'right person' may sometimes take 'a' depending on what you mean?
I don't know how I should put it, but the 'comparative superlative + ...
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Indefinite article + superlative adjective
There can no more be a best possible world than there can be a largest number.
What does "a largest number" mean here? What is the difference in that sentence between "the" and "a"?
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Is the expression "the biggest such business" grammatically correct?
I have found the expression “the biggest such business” in the second sentence in The Economist.
It has also made it easier for people to find the ingredients, kit and talent necessary to cook ...
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Is it correct to say second maximum?
I've seen, "second largest" being used more often.
Is there any special reason that, "second maximum", is not a correct thing expression?
For example, if I have an array of numbers: 1,2,3, is it ...
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Use of definite article before superlative adverbs [duplicate]
What is the rule regarding the use of definite article (the) before superlative adverbs? Is it mandatory, optional, or not required at all to use the before superlative adverbs?
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There is no question that you will not misunderstand this sentence
The MacMillan Dictionary has the following definition for the phrase 'there is no question that':
used for saying that something is definitely true
It gives the example:
There is no question ...
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Superlative, present perfect vs past perfect
In the following context, can I have present perfect, or do I need to use past perfect?
It was the worst food I've ever eaten / I had ever eaten.
Thank you :)
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What does the phrase "it has been" mean in the sentence?
I came across a headline on a website yesterday, saying:
"Razer Huntsman Elite is the cheapest it has been in the UK, at £158."
I think I can roughly understand the sentence (Razer Huntsman Elite ...
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Do -ist words (e.g. racist) have superlative or comparative forms?
Do -ist words (e.g. racist, sexist, etc.) have superlative or comparative forms?
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Superlative or not?
In the sentence
In the time of full-blown financial crisis in the country's history the contingency measures undertaken by the bank's
shareholders and the management proved insufficient.
does ...
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Can we say " the most similar passages"?
A comparison of the most similar passages from this tradition could shed light, I hope, on the interpretation of the first Palladan monosyllabic substantive.
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Superlatives - "in all" vs. "of all"
Example sentence: "He ran the fastest (of all) the anchors." - my coworker (an ESL teacher) wants to know specifically why we can't say "He ran the fastest (in all) the anchors". I feel like it may ...
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"least riskiest" vs "safest" - double superlative or single is better? [duplicate]
Is "least riskiest" stylistically correct? Can it be considered a double superlative? Would "safest" be a better choice?
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Is 'most ugly' a correct term? [duplicate]
My friend recently said "My parents got me the most ugly Sherry glasses I've ever seen". He is a native English speaker and said that 'most ugly' in this context is correct even though I've always ...
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The most / most
He's most approachable first thing in the morning.
I don't understand why I must use "most" and I can't use "The most".
I have a little knowledge that "most" is an adverb which amplifies an ...
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Comparative or superlative adjective?
I think it is best not to be impolite.
Is the above sentence fine, or should it have better instead of best in it?
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is ‘fine’ in the sense ‘of very good quality’ gradable? [closed]
Fine in the sense of very good quality seems to be an absolute adjective, and since absolute adjectives are not gradable, so I am wondering if this principle applies to fine in the sense ‘of very good ...
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Why isn't the definite article used before "closest" in "Who are you closest to"?
Why is there no definite article before "closest" in the question "Who are you closest to in your family?" My only assumption is that "to be close to someone" is a set phrase and it is used without an ...
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The most opposite word of "the largest"
When we compare numbers of people, we can use the phrases:
"The highest/lowest number of people was"
"The biggest/smallest number of people was"
"The most/least people were"
That the word "lowest" ...
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The largest, greatest, highest or biggest number of . .
I'm not a native speaker, and my teacher taught me to use "the biggest number of . . ." when comparing amounts of some things, but I've checked it in google which seems like "the ...
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Comparatives and superlatives for the word "statistic"
Let's say, there was a bar chart giving 2 different pieces of data for 3 groups.
- Monkeys was the ______________ statistic.
If you needed to complete the sentence above with a superlative ...
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Is it correct to say “my oldest child” when you have only two children?
I remember "oldest" child is more correctly used when you have more than two children - e.g. my older child (assumption that there are only two children); my oldest child (assumption that there are at ...
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How do I ask "who has done the most number of things" properly
Sorry if the title is confusing. Basically I want to ask people "who has done a certain thing for the most number/times" but I don't know to properly construct the sentence.
Please help me.
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singular noun-verb agreement with superlative adjective
Is the noun-verb following sentence correct?:
"Most metaphysics has been determined by it."
I thought that with the superlative adjective 'most', the subject is made plural; but can it also be ...
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Usage of "elder" and "eldest" in degrees of comparison
If one has two elder brothers, is it OK to say "My eldest brother is this and the second eldest is that"?
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The use of superlative as in “the poorest half”
I saw the phrase "poorest half of the population." Is superlative always used with "half"? Is "poorer half" okay? Do you also say the "richest half"?
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superlative + relative clause
An earlier question (Relative clauses: “I did the best I could.”) asks about the antecedent of the relative clause, and there are two answers there:
The one (by @Man_From_India) accepted as the best ...
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