Word
Gemmologen arbetar med ädelstenar av allra högsta kvalitet.
Meaning
The gemologist works with gemstones of the very highest quality.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Gemmologen arbetar med ädelstenar av allra högsta kvalitet.
hög
high / loudly
med
with
av
of, by / from (cause)
kvaliteten
the quality
Questions & Answers about Gemmologen arbetar med ädelstenar av allra högsta kvalitet.
What does the word allra do in this sentence?
It intensifies the superlative adjective högsta to mean the very highest. You will often see allra paired with superlatives to create an absolute superlative, which emphasizes that something is at the absolute top of a scale.
Why is högsta in the definite superlative form, but the noun kvalitet has no definite ending?
Normally, a definite adjective requires a definite noun, which would look like den högsta kvaliteten. However, in abstract phrases describing a grade or standard, particularly after the preposition av, Swedish drops the article and uses a definite superlative adjective with a bare, indefinite noun.
Is högsta a regular superlative form?
No, the adjective hög is irregular. Its comparative is högre and its superlative is högst. Because it is used here to define a specific extreme before a noun, it takes the definite ending -a, resulting in högsta.
How is the compound word ädelstenar built?
It is a combination of ädel (noble or precious) and stenar (stones). In Swedish, precious stones are literally referred to as noble stones, following the same pattern as ädelmetaller (precious metals).