Collins Cobuild English Grammar (44 page)

contrasted comparatives

2.111
  You show that one amount of a quality or thing is linked to another amount by using two contrasted comparatives preceded by
the
.

The smaller
it is,
the cheaper
it is to post.
The more militant
we became,
the less confident
she became.
The larger
the organization,
the less scope
there is for decision.

Comparing things: superlatives

2.112
  Another way of describing something is to say that it has more of a quality than anything else of its kind. You do this by using a
superlative adjective
. Only qualitative adjectives usually have superlatives, but a few colour adjectives also have them. Superlatives normally consist of either
-est
added to the end of an adjective and
the
placed in front of it, as in
the hardest
and
the smallest
, or of
the most
placed in front of the adjective, as in
the most interesting
and
the most flexible
.

Note that
good
and
bad
have the irregular superlative forms
the best
and
the worst
.

The patterns for forming regular and irregular superlatives of adjectives are explained in the Reference Section.

Note that superlative adjectives are nearly always preceded by
the
, because you are talking about something definite. Occasionally, when superlatives are used after a linking verb,
the
is omitted (see paragraph
2.117
).

BE CAREFUL

2.113
  Adjectives with
most
in front of them are not always superlatives.
Most
can also mean
very
.

This book was
most interesting
.
My grandfather was a
most extraordinary
man.

Words like
very
and
rather
are called
submodifying adverbs
. These are explained in paragraphs
2.140
to
2.156
.

used in front of a noun

2.114
  Superlatives can be used as
modifiers
in front of a noun.

He was
the cleverest
man I ever knew.
It was
the most exciting
summer of their lives.
She came out of
the thickest
part of the crowd.
Now we come to
the most important
thing.
…
the oldest
rock paintings in North America.
…
the most eminent
scientists in Britain.

Note that superlatives are also used as modifiers in front of
one
.

No one ever used
the smallest
one.

used after a linking verb

2.115
  Superlatives are also used after a
linking verb
.

He was
the youngest
.
The sergeant was
the tallest
.

The use of adjectives after linking verbs is explained in paragraphs
3.132
to
3.137
.

structures used after superlatives

2.116
  You can use a superlative on its own if it is clear what is being compared. For example, if you say
Paul was the tallest
, you are referring to a group of people that has already been identified.

If you need to refer to the point of the comparison, you use a phrase or clause that consists of

phrases that start with a preposition, usually
in
or
of

Henry was
the biggest of them
.
The third requirement is
the most important of all
.
These cakes are probably
the best in the world
.

Note that if the superlative is placed in front of a noun, the preposition comes after the noun.

…the
best
hotel for families.
I’m in
the worst
business in the world.

a relative clause

It’s
the best
I’m likely to get.
The waiting room was
the worst
I had seen.

Note that if the superlative is placed in front of a noun, the relative clause comes after the noun.

That’s
the most convincing
answer that you’ve given me.

USAGE NOTE

2.117
  You usually put
the
in front of the superlative, but you can occasionally omit it, especially in informal speech or writing.

Wool and cotton blankets are generally
cheapest
.
It can be used by whoever is
closest
.

However, you cannot omit
the
when the superlative is followed by
of
or another structure showing what group of things you are comparing. So, for example, you can say
Amanda was the youngest of our group
or
Amanda was the youngest
or
Amanda was youngest
, but you cannot say
Amanda was youngest of our group
.

You can sometimes use the possessive form of a noun or a possessive determiner instead of
the
in front of a superlative. Often the possessive form of a noun is used instead of a phrase beginning with a preposition. For example, you can say
Britain’s oldest man
instead of
the oldest man in Britain
.

…
the world’s most popular
cheese.
…
my newest
assistant.

The possessive form of nouns is explained in paragraphs
1.211
to
1.222
, and possessive determiners are explained in paragraphs
1.194
to
1.210
.

used with other adjectives

2.118
  A superlative is sometimes accompanied by another adjective ending in
-able
or
-ible
. This second adjective can be placed either between the superlative and the noun or after the noun.

…
the narrowest imaginable
range of interests.
…
the most beautiful
scenery
imaginable
.
…
the longest possible
gap.
I say that in
the nicest
way
possible
.

superlatives used as nouns

2.119
  Superlative adjectives are sometimes used like nouns in fairly formal English. When you use a superlative adjective in this way, you put
the
in front of it, and follow it with
of
and a noun or pronoun that refers to the things being compared. When superlative adjectives are used in this way they can refer to one thing or to more than one.

They are often too poor to buy or rent even
the cheapest
of houses.
He made several important discoveries.
The most interesting
of these came from an examination of an old manuscript.

If it is clear what you are talking about, you can omit
of
and the following noun phrase.

There are three types of ant-eater.
The smallest
lives entirely in trees.

USAGE NOTE