The oldest, the most expensive

This lesson explains how to form and use superlatives in English: expressions like "the oldest" or "the most expensive". Superlatives compare one item against all others in a group and identify the extreme (highest or lowest) degree of a quality.

• Use the superlative to show something is at the top or bottom of a scale (oldest = highest age, most expensive = highest price).
• Short adjectives (usually one syllable) often add -est: old → oldest; large → largest.
• Longer adjectives (usually two syllables or more) use "the most" before the adjective: expensive → the most expensive.
• Remember irregular forms: good → the best; bad → the worst.

Remember the basic formation rules:

• Use "the" before all superlatives: the oldest, the most expensive.
• Add -est for short adjectives (one syllable): new → the newest.
• For adjectives ending in -y, change y → i and add -est: happy → the happiest.
• Use "the most" for many adjectives of two or more syllables: the most reliable.
• Use irregular forms where needed: the best, the worst, the least.

In business writing, choose the most natural form: "the highest revenue" (not "the revenue highest").

Learners often make predictable errors with superlatives. Watch out for these:

• Omitting "the": saying "oldest branch" instead of "the oldest branch".
• Using double comparatives or mixing forms: "more older" or "most oldest" (incorrect).
• Applying -est to long adjectives: saying "expensivest" (incorrect) instead of "the most expensive".
• Forgetting irregulars: saying "goodest" or "baddest" (incorrect).
• Placing the adjective after the noun: "the branch oldest" is incorrect in English.

Focus on form: choose -est or "the most", and always include "the" with a superlative.