When you want to talk about extremes—like the tallest skyscraper or the most impressive tower—you need the superlative. Let's look at how to form it in French.
The superlative
To express "the most" or "the least", you simply use a definite article (le, la, or les) followed by plus (more) or moins (less), and then the adjective.
The article you use must agree in gender and number with the noun you are describing.
| This skyscraper is the tallest. | Ce gratte-ciel est le plus haut. |
| This tower is the least tall. | Cette tour est la moins haute. |
Placement with nouns
When a superlative directly modifies a noun, its placement depends on where the adjective usually goes.
For adjectives that come after the noun, you must state the noun with its article, and then repeat the definite article before plus or moins.
| I admired the most impressive tower. | J'ai admiré la tour la plus impressionnante. |
| These old castles have the lowest towers. | Ces vieux châteaux ont les tours les plus basses. |
If the adjective normally comes before the noun (like beau for beauty), the superlative also goes before the noun, and you only need one article. Notice the contrast between the two adjectives here:
| It is the tallest structure with the most beautiful architecture. | C'est la structure la plus haute avec la plus belle architecture. |
Saying "in" a place
In English, we say a building is the tallest "in" the city. After a superlative, French uses the preposition de (of) instead.
Remember that de combines with le to become du, and with les to become des.
| This tower is the tallest in the city. | Cette tour est la plus haute de la ville. |
| It is the least impressive monument in the country. | C'est le monument le moins impressionnant du pays. |
| It is the narrowest street in the neighborhood. | C'est la rue la plus étroite du quartier. |
Putting it all together
Now you are ready to compare architecture using both extremes!
| This skyscraper is the narrowest structure, but it has the most impressive view. | Ce gratte-ciel est la structure la plus étroite, mais il a la vue la plus impressionnante. |
