This lesson is about forming Superlatives Adjectives in Spanish by attaching the suffix “-ísimo”.
Attaching “-ísimo” at the end of an adjective is a way of expressing that adjective at an extreme degree, making it a superlative adjective. For example, look at this transformation:
- inteligente = intelligent
- inteligentísimo = very very intelligent, extremely intelligent
Most adjectives build their superlative form with the suffix “-ísimo”, but there are exceptions: a few adjectives which use other suffixes to form their superlatives. We will also learn those other suffixes in this lesson.
We will go through the following points:
Contents
- 1. “-ísimo” superlative adjectives
- 2. “-císimo” superlative adjectives
- 3. “-bilísimo” superlative adjectives
- 4. “-érrimo” superlative adjectives
- 5. Feminine and Plural forms of Superlative Adjectives
- 6. Example Sentences
- 7. A different kind of Superlative Adjectives: “el más…”, “el menos…”
- 8. Practice: A Quiz
- 9. Practice: An Exercise
1. “-ísimo” superlative adjectives
For most adjectives, we can form their superlative using the suffix “-ísimo”. Just follow this formula:
- If the Singular Masculine form of the adjective ends in a consonant, just attach “-ísimo” at the end. Pay attention to possible consonant transformations, such as the final “z” becoming “c”.
Adjective Superlative fácil facilísimo difícil dificilísimo feliz felicísimo
- If the Singular Masculine form of the adjective ends in a vowel, first eliminate that vowel, and then add “-ísimo”. Again, pay attention to possible consonant transformations.
Adjective Superlative grande grandísimo guapo guapísimo blanco blanquísimo largo larguísimo
2. “-císimo” superlative adjectives
Adjectives whose Singular Masculine form ends in “-n” or “-or”, usually form their superlative by adding “-císimo”:
Adjective Superlative joven jovencísimo mayor mayorcísimo
3. “-bilísimo” superlative adjectives
Adjectives ending in “ble” form their superlative by changing that final “-ble” for “-bilísimo”.
Adjective Superlative amable amabilísimo agradable agradabilísimo
4. “-érrimo” superlative adjectives
Some adjectives whose Singular Masculine form’s last syllable contains the letter “r”, add the ending “érrimo” in the following manner:
Adjective Superlative libre libérrimo célebre celebérrimo
5. Feminine and Plural forms of Superlative Adjectives
As we have seen, we always take the singular masculine form of the adjective as our starting point to form the superlative.
That said, once we have formed the superlative, we can now change the superlative’s gender and number in order to match the noun it relates to.
For example, the superlative for “grande” is “grandísimo”. Now we can change its gender and number to match a certain noun, resulting in these 4 possibilities:
| masculine singular | grandísimo |
| feminine singular | grandísima |
| masculine plural | grandísimos |
| feminine plural | grandísimas |
6. Example Sentences
The following sentences include superlative adjectives of all genders and numbers:
El coche es carísimo.
The car is extremely expensive. (“caro” = expensive. The superlative adjective is “carísimo”, and in this sentence we leave it that way, because “coche” is masculine singular.)Mi perra es grandísima.
My female dog is extremely big. (“grande” = big. The superlative adjective is “grandísimo”, and in this sentence we change it to “grandísima”, because “perra” is feminine singular.)Los estudiantes son amabilísimos.
The students are extremely nice. (“amable” = nice. The superlative adjective is “amabilísimo”, and in this sentence we change it to “amabilísimos”, because “estudiantes” is masculine plural.)Las chicas son celebérrimas.
The girls are extremely famous (“célebre” = famous. The superlative adjective is “celebérrimo”, and in this sentence we change it to “celebérrimas”, because “chicas” is feminine plural.)
7. A different kind of Superlative Adjectives: “el más…”, “el menos…”
In this lesson, we have talk about how to express and adjective to an extreme degree by using suffixes such as “-ísimo”.
But there is another thing we also call “Superlative Adjective” in Spanish: 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 this 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.
8. Practice: A Quiz
Take this short Quiz to test your knowledge about Superlative Adjectives with “-ísimo” (and the other suffixes):
9. Practice: An Exercise
This kid likes bragging about how cool all his stuff is: his bike, his mom… Fill the gaps in your mind or on a piece of paper using Superlatives with “-ísimo”. Then check the solutions at the end of this post.
¿Os he dicho que 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