Superlatives

While comparatives compare two things, superlatives identify the extreme — the most, the least, the best, the tallest, the biggest. Spanish has two types of superlatives: relative superlatives (the most/least in a group) and absolute superlatives (extremely, very — without comparison).

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Relative Superlative: The Most / The Least

The relative superlative says something is the most or least [adjective] in a group.

Structure: article (el/la/los/las) + más/menos + adjective + de + group

Spanish	English
María es la más alta de la clase.	María is the tallest in the class.
Este es el libro más interesante del año.	This is the most interesting book of the year.
Son los menos caros de la tienda.	They are the least expensive in the shop.

Important Details

1. The definite article (el, la, los, las) must agree with the noun in gender and number.
2. Use de (not en) to express "in" with superlatives. This is a common mistake for English speakers.
3. When the noun is stated, the adjective goes after it (with the article before the noun):
   • el restaurante más famoso de la ciudad (the most famous restaurant in the city)
   • la montaña más alta de España (the tallest mountain in Spain)

Example Sentences

• Es la ciudad más bonita de España. (It is the prettiest city in Spain.)
• El Everest es la montaña más alta del mundo. (Everest is the tallest mountain in the world.)
• Julio es el mes más caluroso del año. (July is the hottest month of the year.)
• Este es el examen más difícil de todos. (This is the most difficult exam of all.)
• Son los estudiantes más trabajadores de la universidad. (They are the hardest-working students at the university.)
• Es la película menos interesante de la serie. (It is the least interesting film in the series.)

Tip: del is the contraction of de + el: "del mundo" = "de el mundo" (of the world).

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Irregular Superlatives

The same adjectives that have irregular comparatives also have irregular superlative forms:

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative	English
bueno	mejor	el/la mejor	the best
malo	peor	el/la peor	the worst
grande	mayor	el/la mayor	the biggest / the oldest
pequeño	menor	el/la menor	the smallest / the youngest

Examples

• Es el mejor restaurante de la ciudad. (It is the best restaurant in the city.)
• Fue la peor experiencia de mi vida. (It was the worst experience of my life.)
• Carlos es el mayor de tres hermanos. (Carlos is the oldest of three siblings.)
• Ana es la menor de la familia. (Ana is the youngest in the family.)
• Son los mejores estudiantes del curso. (They are the best students in the course.)
• Estas son las peores condiciones posibles. (These are the worst possible conditions.)

Remember: Never say el más mejor or la más peor. The irregular forms already include the comparative meaning.

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Absolute Superlative: -ísimo/a

The absolute superlative does not compare — it simply emphasises that something is extremely or very [adjective]. It is formed by adding -ísimo (masculine) or -ísima (feminine) to the adjective stem.

Formation Rules

Original Ending	Rule	Example
Consonant	Add -ísimo/a	fácil → facilísimo
Vowel	Drop vowel, add -ísimo/a	alto → altísimo, guapo → guapísimo
-co	Change to -qu	rico → riquísimo
-go	Change to -gu	largo → larguísimo
-z	Change to -c	feliz → felicísimo
-ble	Change to -bil	amable → amabilísimo

All Four Forms