El superlativo

Objetivos

  • Use superlative expressions
A sign in a supermarket advertising "Los yoghurts más frescos de Chile"

“Los yoghurts más frescos de Chile.”

The superlative is used to make a comparison between multiple items and it is used to stress a relationship of superiority between one item and the rest. In English, to form a superlative we usually add “-est” to an adjective. In Spanish, however, we’re going to start with an article and add “más” / “menos” before adjective to create the superlative.

el/la/los/las + (noun) + más/menos + (adjective) + de

Some adjectives have irregular comparative forms which you saw when discussing comparisons of inequality. When applied to the superlative constructions they retain their irregular forms:

definite article + irregular comparative form + de

Play Audiobueno → Play Audioel mejor (the best)
Play Audiomalo → Play Audioel peor (the worst)
Play Audiogrande → Play Audioel mayor (the oldestpeople)
Play Audiopequeño → el menor (the youngestpeople)

  • Play AudioCuando los colegas coreanos salen a comer, el mayor paga. (When Korean colleagues go out to eat, the oldest pays.)
  • Play AudioMuchos europeos son trilingües, pero en general los africanos son los más multilingües del mundo. (Many Europeans are trilingual, but in general Africans are the most multilingual in the world.)