Welcome to our grammar lesson about Superlatives Adjectives in Spanish with suffixes like -ísimo.
Attaching these suffixes at the end of an adjective is a way of expressing that adjective to an extreme degree, making it a superlative adjective.
For example, look at this transformation:
- inteligente = intelligent
- inteligentísimo = very very intelligent, extremely intelligent
Most adjectives form their superlative by attaching the ending -ísimo, but there are exceptions: some adjectives use other suffixes. We will learn all of them in this lesson, providing examples.
At the end, you’ll find a Quiz and an Exercise for practice.
Contents
1. Suffixes we attach to make Superlative Adjectives
-ísimo
Most adjectives form their superlative by attaching the suffix -ísimo. Just apply one of these two formulas:
- If the adjective ends in a consonant, simply attach -ísimo at the end. Pay attention to possible consonant transformations, such as a final “z” becoming “c” :
Adjective Superlative Meaning: "Extremely..."
débil debilísimo weak
fácil facilísimo easy
difícil dificilísimo difficult
feliz felicísimo happy
- If the adjective ends in a vowel, first remove that vowel, then attach -ísimo. Again, pay attention to possible consonant transformations:
Adjective Superlative Meaning: "Extremely..."
barato baratísimo cheap
caro carísimo expensive
grande grandísimo big
guapo guapísimo handsome
viejo viejísimo old
blanco blanquísimo white
largo larguísimo long
fresco fresquísimo fresh
rico riquísimo rich / tasty
-císimo
Adjectives whose Singular Masculine form ends in “-n” or “-or”, usually form their superlative by adding -císimo:
Adjective Superlative Meaning: "Extremely..."
joven jovencísimo young
mayor mayorcísimo old
hablador habladorcísimo talkative
inferior inferiorcísimo inferior
superior superiorcísimo superior
-bilísimo
Adjectives ending in “ble” form their superlative by changing that final “-ble” for -bilísimo.
Adjective Superlative Meaning: "Extremely..."
amable amabilísimo nice
agradable agradabilísimo nice
notable notabilísimo prominent
rentable rentabilísimo profitable
miserable miserabilísimo miserable
estable estabilísimo stable
probable probabilísimo probable, likely
-érrimo
Some adjectives whose last syllable contains the letter “r”, add the ending -érrimo in the following manner:
Adjective Superlative Meaning: "Extremely..."
libre libérrimo free
célebre celebérrimo famous
acre acérrimo bitter
salubre salubérrimo healthy
2. Irregular Superlatives
There are some adjectives that, when forming their superlative, present a change in their stem apart from attaching a suffix.
Here are some examples:
| Adjective | Superlative | Meaning: "Extremely..." |
|---|---|---|
| fuerte | fortísimo | strong |
| sabio | sapientísimo | wise |
| antiguo | antiquísimo | old |
| fiel | fidelísimo | loyal |
| ardiente | ardentísimo | ardent |
| caliente | calentísimo | hot |
| pobre | paupérrimo | poor |
3. Accent Marks on Superlatives
As we notice, all superlatives present an accent mark on the attached suffix. And naturally, that is the only accent mark the superlative is going to have (two accents on one word is not possible in Spanish).
That means, if the original adjective already had an accent mark, it loses it in its superlative form.
For example, “fácil” becomes “facilísimo“. It loses its original accent mark, and presents the one on the attached suffix.
4. Feminine and Plural Forms of Superlatives
Once we have formed a superlative adjective with -ísimo or some other suffix, then we can match its gender and number to the noun it is connected to.
For example, following the process explained in this lesson, we get that the superlative for “grande” is “grandísimo“. Now we can change its gender and number to match a certain noun, resulting in these 4 forms:
| masculine singular | grandísimo |
| feminine singular | grandísima |
| masculine plural | grandísimos |
| feminine plural | grandísimas |
5. Example Sentences
The following sentences include Spanish superlatives, which of course match the gender and number of the noun the are connected to:
El coche es carísimo.
The car is extremely expensive.Mi perra es grandísima.
My female dog is extremely big.Los estudiantes son amabilísimos.
The students are extremely nice.Las chicas son celebérrimas.
The girls are extremely famous.
6. Practice Spanish Superlatives
Quiz
Take this Quiz to test your knowledge about Superlative Adjectives ending in suffixes like -ísimo:
Exercise
This kid likes to brag about how cool his stuff is: his bike, his mom… Fill the gaps in your mind or on a piece of paper using Superlatives ending in -ísimo (or some other suffix). Then check the solutions below:
¿Sabéis una cosa? Tengo una bicicleta _____ 1. (buena)? Es azul y muy bonita. Con ella puedo venir al colegio _____ 2. (rápido).
Me la compraron mis padres, que son _____ 3. (ricos). Ellos tienen un coche _____ 4. (grande) y _____ 5. (caro).
Mirad, una foto de mi madre. Es _____ 6. (joven), ¿verdad?. Y también es _____ 7.(amable) con todo el mundo, sobre todo con mis amigos. Venid un día a mi casa y seguro que nos prepara unos dulces _____ 8.(sabrosos).
Solutions to the Exercise: 1 = buenísima, 2 = rapidísimo, 3 = riquísimos, 4 = grandísimo, 5 = carísimo, 6 = jovencísima, 7 = amabilísima, 8 = sabrosísimos
7.Another type of superlative: “el más ___”, “el menos___”
There is another grammar construction in Spanish we also call “Superlative Adjective”: It is when we express that something is “the most ____” or “the least ____”, when comparing and contrasting it with other things. That grammar construction is fully explained in a separate lesson: Spanish Superlative Adjectives (“EL MÁS…, EL MENOS…”).
Here are two examples of this other grammar construction we also call “Superlative Adjective”:
Este coche es el más moderno.
This car is the most modern.Ana es la menos inteligente de nuestra clase.
Ana is the least intelligent in our class.
