Superlatives express the highest or lowest degree of a quality. Spanish distinguishes two different kinds of superlative: the relative superlative, which compares one thing against a group, and the absolute superlative, which simply intensifies an adjective without any comparison.
The Relative Superlative
The relative superlative says that something is "the most" or "the least" of a group. It follows a fixed pattern that combines a definite article with más or menos.
The basic formula is: el / la / los / las + (noun) + más / menos + adjective + de.
El libro más interesante de la biblioteca está en mi mesa.
The most interesting book in the library is on my table.
Notice that Spanish uses de where English uses "in" or "of." Saying en la biblioteca would be ungrammatical in this construction.
Ella es la estudiante más trabajadora de la clase.
She is the hardest-working student in the class.
You can drop the noun if it is clear from context. The article alone then carries its meaning.
The Absolute Superlative with -ísimo
The absolute superlative adds the suffix -ísimo/-ísima to an adjective, with no comparison to anything else. It simply means "extremely" or "very, very."
To form it, drop any final vowel from the adjective and add -ísimo (agreeing in gender and number).
| Adjective | Absolute Superlative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| rápido | rapidísimo | extremely fast |
| fácil | facilísimo | extremely easy |
| grande | grandísimo | enormous |
| bueno | buenísimo | extremely good |
La comida en ese restaurante es riquísima.
The food at that restaurant is extremely delicious.
Irregular Superlatives
The same four adjectives that have irregular comparatives also have irregular superlatives. You simply add the definite article to the comparative form.
| Adjective | Superlative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| bueno | el / la mejor | the best |
| malo | el / la peor | the worst |
| grande | el / la mayor | the oldest / greatest |
| pequeño | el / la menor | the youngest / smallest |
Es la mejor película que he visto este año.
It is the best movie I have seen this year.
Mi primo es el menor de la familia.
My cousin is the youngest in the family.
Combining Both Types
You can combine a relative superlative with an absolute one for strong emphasis, though this is colloquial.
Es el examen más dificilísimo de todos.
It is the absolute hardest exam of them all.
Related Topics
- Irregular ComparativesA2 — Master the four irregular comparative adjectives in Spanish: mejor, peor, mayor, and menor.
- Cuanto más...másB2 — Express 'the more...the more' relationships in Spanish using cuanto más and its variants.
- Superlatives (El más..., El menos...)A2 — Expressing 'the most' or 'the least' with the definite article
- Absolute Superlative (-ísimo)C1 — The -ísimo suffix means 'extremely' or 'very very' without comparing to anything