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You already know that superlatives usually end in **-ast** (or **-st** for irregular adjectives). When you put a superlative directly in front of a specific noun—like "the fastest winner" or "the toughest race"—you must use the definite form.

Just like basic adjectives, superlatives require the "double definite" pattern: a free definite article (**den** for *en* words, **det** for *ett* words), a special ending on the superlative, and the noun in its definite form.

### Regular Superlatives (-aste)

For regular adjectives that end in **-ast** in the superlative, the definite ending is always **-e**. This makes the full ending **-aste**, and it applies to all nouns regardless of gender.

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### Irregular Superlatives (-sta / -ste)

Many short or irregular adjectives change their vowel and end in just **-st** in their superlative form (such as *ung* → *yngst* or *lång* → *längst*). 

For these adjectives, the standard definite ending is **-a** (making the ending **-sta**). However, when describing a specific male person, the ending changes to **-e** (making it **-ste**).

Notice how *yngst* becomes *yngste* and *bäst* becomes *bäste* for a male person:

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In the following sentence, you can see both rules side by side. The irregular *äldst* takes the standard **-a** ending for a house, while the regular *rikast* keeps its mandatory **-e** ending.

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Definite superlative adjectives (-a / -e)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite ending (barnet, hunden)

Indefinite articles and -ar verbs (en, ett)

Basic word order

Singular adjectives (stor, stort)

Plural adjectives (-a)

Sentence negation (inte)

Yes/No questions

Basic question words (vad, vem, var)

Regular Group 2 verbs (-er)

Short verbs and irregulars (har, gör)

The infinitive marker (att)

Modal verbs (kan, vill, måste, får)

Future intention (ska)

Time adverbs (imorgon, igår)

Word order inversion

Adverbs of frequency (ibland, aldrig)

Everyday things (dörren, stolen, tåget)

Definite suffix spelling changes

Plural nouns Group 1 and 2 (-or, -ar)

Plural nouns Group 3 (-er, -r)

Neuter indefinite plurals

Definite plural suffixes (-na, -a, -en)

Object pronouns (mig, dig, oss)

Reflexive pronouns (sig)

Expanded question words (när, varför)

Which and what (vilken, vilket, vilka)

Coordinating conjunctions (men, eller, för)

Prepositions of place (i, på, till, från)

Quantifiers (mycket, många)

Indefinite pronouns (någon, något, några)

First and second person possessives (min, din, vår, er)

Third person possessives (hans, hennes, dess, deras)

Reflexive possessives (sin, sitt, sina)

The genitive (-s)

Adjectives before singular nouns

Adjectives before plural nouns (-a)

Double definiteness (den, det, de)

Demonstratives (den här, det här, de här)

The imperative mood

Past tense of vara and ha (var, hade)

Possessives for names (-s)

Definite plural adjectives (de ... -a)

Genitive case for names (-s)

Numbers 1 to 10 (en, två, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (elva till tjugo)

Counting by tens to 100 (trettio, fyrtio...)

Days of the week (måndag, tisdag...)

Months of the year (januari, februari...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (första, andra...)

Greetings and politeness (hej, tack, förlåt)

Particle verbs of direction (gå ut, komma in)

Simple past: Group 1 (-ade)

Simple past: Group 2a (-de)

Simple past: Group 2b (-te)

Simple past: Group 3 (-dde)

Simple past: Group 4

Present perfect: Groups 1 and 2 (har)

Present perfect: Groups 3 and 4

Past perfect (hade)

Future predictions (kommer att)

Future with present tense

The adjective small (liten, litet, små)

Demonstratives of distance (den där, det där, de där)

Negative pronouns (ingen, inget, inga)

Universal pronouns (all, allt, alla)

The generic pronoun (man, en)

Possessive generic pronoun (ens)

Reciprocal pronoun (varandra)

Qualitative pronouns (sådan, sådant, sådana)

Habitual time expressions (på)

Specific past time expressions (i)

Past time expressions (för ... sedan)

Future time expressions (om)

Location and motion adverbs (här/hit, där/dit)

Consequences (så)

Correlative conjunctions (både ... och)

Either and neither (antingen ... eller, varken ... eller)

Verbs of opinion and belief (tycker, tror, tänker)

Subordinate clauses (att, om)

Time clauses (när, innan, medan)

Clauses of cause (eftersom, därför att)

Negation in subordinate clauses (inte)

V2 word order inversion

Relative clauses as subjects (som)

Relative clauses as objects (som)

Relative clauses for places (där)

Adverbs from adjectives (-t)

Adjective comparative and superlative (-are, -ast)

Question	Answer
the winner	vinnaren
the medal	medaljen
The fastest winner takes the medal.	Den snabbaste vinnaren tar medaljen.
tough	tuff
the race	loppet
the world	världen
It was the toughest race in the world.	Det var det tuffaste loppet i världen.
rich	rik
the champion	mästaren
to beat / to hit, strike (e.g. play a pass)	slå
the record	rekordet
The richest champion wants to beat the record.	Den rikaste mästaren vill slå rekordet.
The youngest brother is the best champion.	Den yngste brodern är den bäste mästaren.
We visited the oldest house where the richest man had lived.	Vi besökte det äldsta huset där den rikaste mannen hade bott.
the event	händelsen
The biggest event in the world is always exciting.	Den största händelsen i världen är alltid spännande.
Will the fastest woman win the toughest race tomorrow?	Vinner den snabbaste kvinnan det tuffaste loppet imorgon?
The fastest dog wins the longest race.	Den snabbaste hunden vinner det längsta loppet.
We must beat the hardest record today.	Vi måste slå det svåraste rekordet idag.
The youngest champion wins the finest medal.	Den yngste mästaren vinner den finaste medaljen.
It is the most fun event in the world.	Det är den roligaste händelsen i världen.
I know the fastest winner in the race.	Jag känner den snabbaste vinnaren i loppet.