Questions tagged [superlative-degree]
The form of an adjective or adverb ending with "-est" or "most".
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What's the difference between "eldest" and "oldest"?
When should I use "eldest" and when should I use "oldest"?
Are the differences semantic or regional? (Or both?)
(What got me wondering is the removeEldestEntry() method in Java's LinkedHashMap class....
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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 "best" still a superlative in "best friend", as in can you have more than one "best friend"?
I was speaking to a 15-year-old native English speaker (in Australia), who referred to someone as her "best friend". Later, she revealed that this wasn't her only best friend. She had four best ...
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Is "funnest" a word?
We seem to be stuck at an impasse on this issue.
Is funnest a word or not?
If so, does it mean "most fun"?
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How can something be "fuller" or the "fullest"?
Consider the definition for full (Source):
full [foo l]
adjective, fuller, fullest.
completely filled; containing all that can be held; filled to utmost capacity: a full cup.
complete; entire; ...
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Can a preposition have the form of superlative?
They had almost reached the door when a voice spoke from the chair
nearest them, "I can't believe you're going to do this.”
I guess nearest is at the place of preposition. Can a preposition have ...
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Is "baddest" a proper word?
I just came across this documentary:
The World's Biggest & Baddest Bugs by Animal Planet
Is "baddest" a proper word? Shouldn't it be "worst"? What is going on here?
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"Highest building of/in the world"
Which is correct?
The Chrysler building was the highest building in the world.
Today, it is the seventh highest building in the USA.
or:
The Chrysler building was the highest building of the ...
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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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How/when does one use "a most"?
I've recently come across a novel called A most wanted man, after which being curious I found a TV episode called A most unusual camera.
Could someone shed some light on how to use "a most" and ...
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"Which do you like best?" or "Which do you like most?"
Is there any difference in usage between these two sentences?
Which do you like best?
Which do you like most?
I've read there is a slight difference in usage - a subtlety - and ...
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Use of "The better"?
Disclamer: English isn't my first language.
I learned during my English courses (a few years ago), that there is, as in French (which is my first language), a comparative and superlative version for ...
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Use of the superlative when only two items are present
When speaking with my mother a couple of days ago, I read to her a message I was sending to my cousin on her behalf ending with: "... the birthday of your youngest." [implying her child]
She ...
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Is "my hardest" a direct object in "I will try my hardest"?
I will try my hardest.
I am confusing myself by trying to figure out the grammatical relations in this sentence. It is not clear to me whether my hardest is a direct object here. If it is not, what ...
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Superlative and definite article "the"
I have seen similar questions like this here on ELU. However, I am still confused with my particular question.
(a) She gets up latest in her family.
(b) She gets up the latest in her family.
Can ...
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"The" before superlative [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Do I need to put “the” before “most” in this sentence?
I've always thought you need the definite article 'the' before the superlative of an adjective, except when the ...
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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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superlative + -ing participle + noun ok?
Is it always ok to have a superlative hyphenated with a present participle ending in -ing acting as an adjective (so long as the superlative describes the base verb of the participle)? For example:
...
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How can I express "bottom" superlative?
Suppose you have some elements (let's say coins) laid out over a table in vertical order. How can I make reference to the coin at the bottom? The lowest coin? The one that is below any other? I just ...
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Is it correct to use "most" + "-est" together?
I was over exaggerating while writing something for class and I wrote
Welcome to the most wildest show on earth.
Someone pointed out the most wildest and I was wondering if it was OK to use most ...
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Superlatives with "the"
What is the rule regarding using the with superlatives? For example:
John is the fastest among his friends.
John is fastest among his friends.
Both appear to be correct. I have seen both ...
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Why can't I use "easierly" instead of "in an easier manner" or "more easily"?
Can you please explain why it is incorrect English?
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Do I need to put “the” before “most” in this sentence?
Is putting “the” before “most” in this sentence compulsory, optional, or a mistake?
Fascination with language and
attention to particular regions and
communities in America are the most common
...
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"At most as many" — what does it mean? [closed]
I've been given the following question as a homework:
If h is consistent, then A* - CSCS will expand at most as many nodes as A* graph search.
English not being my native language, I'm kind of ...
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Which is more proper "rarest" or "most rare"?
In the following usage, which is the correct form for the superlative of the adjective "rare"?
"the rarest on Earth" or "the most rare on Earth"?
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Which is the correct idiom – "When worst comes to worst" or "When worse comes to worst"? [closed]
Which is the correct idiom?
When worst comes to worst
When worse comes to worst
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"The likeliest problem" vs. "the most likely problem"
The likeliest problem vs. the most likely problem:
are they both correct?
do they mean the same thing?
is one preferable over another?
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Is “workingest” used as often and casually as “hardest working” and “the most hard working (or industrious)”?
I found the phrase America is “the workingest nation” on earth in the following sentence of Time magazine’s (November 14) article titled “Whatever happened to upward mobility.”
For the first time ...
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Are there cases when the word "best" as an adjective could be used without "the"?
That is an advertisement of one company, a banner. They write the name of the company and the second line goes like this "best ad designs".
Is this line correct? or should there be a "the"? Is there ...
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What are general rules to form this superlatives: "adjective + most"?
I happen to find superlatives with the structure below:
Adjective + most,
which are:
the rearmost, the frontmost, the uppermost, the headmost, the outermost, the topmost, etc.
What are the ...
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Why do superlative adverbs sometimes use 'the'?
"He ran the fastest." 'the fastest' is an adverb here, not a noun, so why does it use the definite article 'the'?
We could say "He ran fastest", and that works fine too.
If we say "He is the fastest ...
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"Simple is best" vs "Simple is the best"
As a foreigner, using articles is one of the most difficult part.
What is the difference between "Simple is best" and "Simple is the best"? When I googled it, both appeared with many results, so it ...
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Comparative or superlative to describe a quality of a member of a set of two things?
For example, 'he's the bigger of the two guards' or 'he's the biggest of the two guards'?
The comparative indicates that something is bigger/more difficult than another member. If there's only two ...
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Comparative, superlative using "one of"
Which is correct:
Today is one of the warmer days this month.
Today is one of the warmest days this month.
I hear the first used almost exclusively on television news.
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"of utmost importance" vs "of the utmost importance"
Which one is the correct form between "of utmost" and "of the utmost"?
Your attendance at the meeting is of the utmost importance.
Your attendance at the meeting is of utmost importance.
I'...
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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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Which is correct - "most quiet" or "quietest"? [duplicate]
A friend of mine saw a gun at the store that was labeled as the "most quiet gun". Is this correct English or is it more correct to say, the "quietest gun"?
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Comparative of 'smart' where more than one adjective is involved
Related link: My answer to One answer to a Q. is suited to ELL, but the other answer is suited to EL&U on ELU Meta.
In the course of an argument, Rathony said the following:
I would answer, ...
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Comparative or superlative use of the word "far"
Which sentence is correct?
The quarterback threw the ball farthest than anyone else on the team.
The quarterback threw the ball farther than anyone else on the team.
The quarterback threw the ball ...
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Why "respect you most" instead of "respect you more" in the following quote by Samuel Johnson?
"Go into the street and give one man a lecture on morality and another a shilling, and see which will respect you most." British Literature 1640-1789
I can't figure out why Johnson used "most" ...
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Is there a word for "conjugating" an adjective?
Verbs can be conjugated to past/future tenses. Nouns can be pluralized. Adjectives also have comparative and superlative forms. For example fast, faster, and fastest.
What is the word that describes ...
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"Mostest" vs. "most" [closed]
What is the difference between mostest and most?
Can they be used interchangeably?
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Is "most superior" correct?
I am reviewing an article, and the author uses the phrase
... this algorithm achieves the most superior fairness ...
Initially I thought the phrase is not correct, just like saying that ...
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Appropriate use of "littlest"
I recently had a debate with a friend about whether "littlest" was a word. I took the stance that it was not. I find now that basically every time I make such a claim these days someone can hold up ...
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much and more comparative superlative
I know that much is used with uncountable nouns and more with countable nouns.
There is no connection between much and more with the comparative and superlative, right?
For example, if we take the ...
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"Lowest" vs. "lowermost"
Is there any difference between the words lowest and lowermost? When should I use either of them? Possibly lowermost should never be used?
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Comparative and superlative adverbs?
I'm a native speaker of English, and I don't know how many times I've wanted to say "happilier" instead of "more happily", or "happiliest" instead of "most happily". Is there any record of such ...
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"My latest five novels" or "my five latest novels"?
Is it okay to say "my latest five novels" when I want to express "five of my latest novels"?
As far as I know, "five" is a postdeterminer, so it precedes an adjective (except for "last/following/top",...
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What is the proper superlative of "bitter"?
What is the proper superlative of bitter? Is it most bitter or bitterest?
I am assuming that either of these is the correct answer and I cannot recall hearing one more often than the other, and ...
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Relative clauses: "I did the best I could."
I did the best I could.
The sentence above can be rephrased:
I did the best that I could.
In these two examples (that) I could is a relative clause. However, I am not sure whether it is modifying ...