Unit 108. Superlatives (the longest / the most enjoyable etc.)

Unit 108; Part A

Study these examples:

What is the longest river in the world?
What was the most enjoyable holiday you've ever had?

Longest and most enjoyable are superlative forms.

The superlative form is -est or most ... . In general, we use -est for short words and most ... for longer words. The rules are the same as those for the comparative - see Unit 105.
       long → longest       hot → hottest       easy → easiest       hard → hardest
but   most famous    most boring    most difficult    most expensive

A few adjectives are irregular:
good → best       bad → worst        far → furthest/farthest

Unit 108; Part C

We normally use the before a superlative(the longest / the most famous etc.):

•   Yesterday was the hottest day of the year.
•   The film was really boring. It was the most boring film I've ever seen.
•   She is a really nice person - one of the nicest people I know.
•   Why does he always come to see me at the worst possible moment?

Compare superlative and comparative:
•   This hotel is the cheapest in town. (superlative)
        This hotel is cheaper than all the others in town. (comparative)
•   He's the most patient person I've ever met.
        He's much more patient than I am.

Unit 108; Part D

Oldest and eldest
The superlative of old is oldest:
•   That church is the oldest building in the town. (not the eldest)

We use eldest (or oldest) when we are talking about people in a family:
•   My eldest son is 13 years old. (or My oldest son)
•   Are you the eldest in your family? (or the oldest)

Unit 108; Part E

After superlatives we normally use in with places:

•   What's the longest river in the world? (not of the world)
•   We had a nice room. It was one of the best in the hotel. (not of the hotel)

We also use in for organisations and groups of people (a class / a company etc.):
•   Who is the youngest student in the class? (not of the class)

For a period of time, we normally use of:
•   What was the happiest day of your life?
•   Yesterday was the hottest day of the year.

Unit 108; Part F

We often use the present perfect (I have done) after a superlative (see also Unit 8A):

• What's the most important decision you've ever had to make?
• That was the best holiday I've had for a long time.

Exercises

1 Complete the sentences.

Complete the sentences. Use a superlative (-est or most ...) + a preposition (of or in).

1    It's a very good room.
      It    is the best room in    the hotel.
2    It's a very cheap restaurant.
    It's __________________ the town.
3    It was a very happy day.
      It was __________________ my life.
4    She's a very intelligent student.
She __________________ the class.
5    It's a very valuable painting.
It __________________ the gallery.
6    Spring is a very busy time for me.
It __________________ the year.

In the following sentences use one of + a superlative + a preposition.
7    It's a very good room.
It    is one of the best rooms in    the hotel.
8    He's a very rich man.
      He's one ________________________ the world.
9    It's a very big castle.
      It ________________________ Britain.
10 She's a very good player.
      She ________________________ the team.
11 It was a very bad experience.
      It ________________________ my life.
12 He's a very dangerous criminal.
He ________________________ the country.

2 Complete the sentences.

Complete the sentences. Use a superlative (-est or most ...) or a comparative (-er or more ...).

1    We stayed at    the cheapest    hotel in the town. (cheap)
2    Our hotel was    cheaper    than all the others in the town. (cheap)
3    The United States is very large, but Canada is ______________. (large)
4    What's ______________ country in the world? (small)
5    I wasn't feeling well yesterday, but I feel a bit ______________ today. (good)
6    It was an awful day. It was ______________ day of my life. (bad)
7    What is ______________ sport in your country? (popular)
8    Everest is ______________ mountain in the world. It is ______________ than any other mountain. (high)
9    We had a great holiday. It was one of ______________ holidays we've ever had. (enjoyable)
10 I prefer this chair to the other one. It's ______________. (comfortable)
11 What's ______________ way of getting from here to the station? (quick)
12 Sue and Kevin have got three daughters. ______________ is 14 years old. (old)

3 What do you say in these situations?

What do you say in these situations? Use a superlative + ever. Use the words in brackets (in the correct form).

1    You've just been to the cinema. The film was extremely boring. You tell your friend:
     (boring / film / see) That's    the most boring film I've ever seen .
2    Your friend has just told you a joke, which you think is very funny. You say:
      (funny / joke / hear) That's ___________________________________.
3    You're drinking coffee with a friend. It's really good coffee. You say:
     (good / coffee / taste) This ___________________________________.
4    You are talking to a friend about Mary. Mary is very generous. You tell your friend about her:
     (generous / person / meet) She ___________________________________.
5    You have just run ten kilometres. You've never run further than this.
      You say to your friend: (far / run) That ___________________________________.
6    You decided to give up your job. Now you think this was a bad mistake.
      You say to your friend: (bad / mistake / make) It ___________________________________.
7    Your friend meets a lot of people, some of them famous. You ask your friend:
     (famous / person / meet?) Who ___________________________________?

Unit 107 Unit 108 Unit 109

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