The
superlative of
adjectives
GRAMMAR
LEVEL NUMBER LANGUAGE
Beginner A1_2027G_EN English
Goals
■ Learn how to form
superlative adjectives
■ Practise using superlative
adjectives to talk about
your home
www.lingoda.com 2
These rooms are bright. That room is
brighter. This room is the brightest!
www.lingoda.com 3
Forming the superlative
When something is superlative it means that it is the greatest within a set group of
nouns.
We add –est to form the superlative and also use the definite article the in order to
separate the noun from the rest of its group.
big the biggest
smart the smartest
cold the coldest
long the longest
strict the strictest
www.lingoda.com 4
Change –y to -i
If the word ends in –y, we change it to –i and then add -est.
adjective comparative (-er) superlative (-est)
lazy lazier the laziest
noisy noisier the noisiest
messy messier the messiest
tidy tidier the tidiest
www.lingoda.com 5
Comparative or superlative?
brighter smaller
comparative superlative
biggest darker
the darkest the brightest
bigger the smallest
www.lingoda.com 6
Superlative v. Comparative
1. My sister has two children. Her son is _______________ than her daughter.
a. older b. oldest
2. There are three rooms in the office. The storage room is the _______________.
a. darker b. darkest
3. Steve’s house has a garden and a balcony. The balcony is _______________ than the
garden.
a. bigger b. biggest
4. I moved to the countryside because I wanted to live in a ________________ town.
a. smaller b. smallest
www.lingoda.com 7
Superlative v. Comparative
1. Of all the books I have ever read, this one was the _______________.
a. funnier b. funniest.
2. My dog is the _______________ dog in the neighbourhood.
a. loudest b. darker
3. You have the _______________ voice in the entire class.
a. loudest b. longest
4. Yesterday I travelled from Thailand to New York. It was the _______________ journey
I’ve ever made.
a. longer b. longest
www.lingoda.com 8
Open practice
Finish the sentences with a superlative of your choice
1. I love this film. It’s the…
2. You have…
3. These flowers are…
4. Their rabbit is…
5. Antarctica is…
www.lingoda.com 9
More or most?
COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE
1. That is the noisiest baby!
2. This apartment is quieter than that one.
3. Those are the messiest bedrooms!
4. Your house is tidier than my house.
5. My kitchen is brighter than my bathroom.
www.lingoda.com 10
Comparative or superlative?
comparative superlative
quieter tidier
tidiest brightest
noisiest messiest
noisier quietest
brighter messier
www.lingoda.com 11
Practice saying these words
A B
messier messiest
C D
noisier noisiest
www.lingoda.com 12
Practice forming the superlative
1. This bedroom is messy. This is the messiest bedroom.
____________________________________________________
2. That bedroom is tidy. ____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
3. This apartment is noisy. ____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
4. Your dog is cute. ____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
5. My mobile phone is new. ____________________________________________________
www.lingoda.com 13
Using most
For longer words, we use the most and we don’t add -est.
adjective comparative (-er) superlative (-est)
cheap cheaper the cheapest
expensive more expensive the most expensive
traditional more traditional the most traditional
contemporary more contemporary the most contemporary
www.lingoda.com 14
Using least
We also use least to form superlatives.
adjective comparative superlative
cheap cheaper the cheapest
expensive less expensive the least expensive
traditional less traditional the least traditional
contemporary less contemporary the least contemporary
www.lingoda.com 15
Put these words on the right list
expensive quiet cheap dark
messy bright noisy traditional
tidy small contemporary big
-est -iest most...
www.lingoda.com 16
nice
That is the nicest view I’ve ever seen!
www.lingoda.com 17
quiet
She is the quietest student in the class.
www.lingoda.com 18
expensive
This is the most expensive computer I’ve ever bought.
www.lingoda.com 19
fast
I am the fastest!
www.lingoda.com 20
bright
This is the brightest room in my new house.
www.lingoda.com 21
Compare these homes
A B
C D
www.lingoda.com 22
Speaking activity
■ Ask each other questions about the pictures on the previous
slide. For example:
■ Which room is the messiest?
■ Which do you think is the most modern?
■ Which one has the nicest view?
The room in picture A is looks cosiest.
www.lingoda.com 23
Jack and Jane
biggest
smallest
www.lingoda.com 24
Jack and Jane
Jack: I’m the best baker
in the whole family!
Jane: No you‘re not. I‘m
the best. I always make
the tastiest cakes!
Jack: Your cakes aren‘t
tasty at all. And you
always make a mess in
the kitchen. You are the
messiest person I know!
Jane: That‘s the biggest
lie I‘ve ever heard. I am
much tidier than you.
Your bedroom is the
messiest room in the
whole house.
Jack: Stay out of my
bedroom!
www.lingoda.com 25
Speaking activity
Jack and Jane are twins. They always argue about who is the best
at doing different things.
Use the words from the previous slides to talk about your own
family.
My brother is the noisiest. He is a drummer!
www.lingoda.com 26
Combine the words to make sentences
A B 1. nicest
2. happiest
orange baby
3. most delicious
C D
4. warmest
beach flower
www.lingoda.com 27
Combine the words to make sentences
A B 1. tidiest
2. messiest
kitchen garden
3. newest
C D
4. fullest
phone suitcase
www.lingoda.com 28
Reflect on the goals
Go back to the second slide of the lesson and check
if you have achieved all the goals of the lesson.
yes no
_______________________________ _______________________________
_______________________________ _______________________________
www.lingoda.com 29
Reflect on this lesson
Think about everything you have seen in this lesson.
What were the most difficult activities or words? The easiest?
+ _______________________________
_______________________________
+ _______________________________
_______________________________
– _______________________________
_______________________________
– _______________________________
_______________________________
If you have time, go over
the most difficult slides again
www.lingoda.com 30
31 www.lingoda.com
Exercise p. 5: comparative: brighter, smaller, darker, bigger; superlative: biggest,
darkest, brightest, smallest
Exercise p. 6: 1. c 2. a 3. d 4. b
Exercise p. 7: 1. a 2. b 3. a 4. b
Exercise p. 9: 1. most 2. more 3. most 4. more 5. more
Exercise p. 10: comparative: quieter, tidier, noiser, brighter, messier; superlative:
tidiest, brightest, noisiest, messiest, quiestest
Exercise p. 12: 2. tidiest 3. noisiest 4. quietest 5. biggest
Exercise p. 14: -est: quiet, cheap, dark, bright, small, big; -iest: messy, noisy, tidy;
more...: expensive, traditional, contemporary
Answer key
Homework
www.lingoda.com 32
Complete the table
small _______________ smallest
big bigger _______________
_______________ quieter quietest
noisy _______________ noisiest
tidy tidier _______________
_______________ messier messiest
expensive more expensive _______________
_______________ more traditional most traditional
most
contemporary _______________ contemporary
www.lingoda.com 33
Text at the beginning
Go back to the text on page 3
and find examples of
the grammar topic of this lesson in it.
Write them down.
Copy parts of the text
that are examples of
topic of the lesson.
www.lingoda.com 34
Find the adjectives
Find the adjectives in this lesson and write them down.
Which are new? Do you know all of them?
Look these words up.
adjectives
www.lingoda.com 35
Sentences with the superlative
Choose five sentences from this lesson using the comparative.
Copy them and write them using the superlative.
Examples:
That apartment is messier.
→ That apartment is messiest.
This house is noisier.
→ This house is noisiest.
www.lingoda.com 36
37 www.lingoda.com
Exercise p. 21:
small, smaller, smallest
big, bigger, biggest
quiet, quieter, quietest
noisy, noisier, noisiest
tidy, tidier, tidiest
messy, messier, messiest
expensive, more expensive, most expensive
traditional, more traditional, most traditional
contemporary, more contemporary, most contemporary
Homework answer key
About this material
This material is proudly provided by
and can be used by anyone for free and
for any purpose.
Who are we?
Why learn English online?
What kinds of English classes do we offer?
Who are our English teachers?
How do our English certificates work?
We also have a language blog!
www.lingoda.com 38
