Study Resource: Describing the group for superlative adjectives

When you’re making a comparison using superlative adjectives, you will need to describe the group of nouns that you are comparing. Use this structure:

Below, we discuss the most common ways to build that descriptive phrase.

We often use a prepositional phrase (preposition + noun) to describe the group you are comparing to. It generally comes after the superlative adjective:

• A preposition of place + noun will tell you the location or place where the group we are describing is found:

  • This is the oldest story book at the library.
  • That is the heaviest textbook in your bag.

• We also often use in+ collective noun, if the collective noun describes the group.

  • That is the fastest bird in the flock.
  • She was the best student in her group.

• When the noun after the superlative adjective is a piece of a larger noun, you can use of+ larger noun.

  • Margot ate the biggest piece of the cake.
  • The most frightening part of “Jaws” is when the shark attacks.

• Often, we use a prepositional phrase beginning with of all

  • Sarah is the smartest of all the students in her class.
  • This is the wildest party of all the parties that Margot has thrown.
  • He is the best of all my friends.

  With context, you can drop the noun after all:

  • They are all good tennis players, but Rafa is the best of all.

Notice that the noun after the preposition is also usually definite, because we are making a comparison between one thing/group and another specific thing/group.

You can use a time phrase like last year, yesterday, all evening, ever, or of all time to define the group you are comparing to. This is common when you are comparing different events, because events happen at different times.

For example:

• This was Mr. Albert’s least interesting lecture all year.

  Out of all of Mr. Albert’s lectures this year, this is the least interesting lecture.
• What was your worst class yesterday?

  Out of all the classes you attended yesterday, which was the worst class?

You can also give more information about the group you are choosing from by using a relative clause to describe the noun as well as the superlative adjective. For example:

• Mr. Albert was the nicest teacher that I had last year.

  Out of all the teachers that I had last year, Mr. Albert was the nicest.
• This is the most delicious pie that my mother has ever baked!

  Out of all of the pies that my mother has baked, this is the most delicious pie.