Welcome to our grammar lesson about Spanish superlatives with the ending -ísimo (and other similar endings).
Attaching certain 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:
- grande = big
- grandísimo = very very big, extremely big
Most adjectives form their superlative by attaching the ending -ísimo, but some adjectives attach other suffixes.
We will learn them all in this lesson, providing examples.
At the end you’ll find a Quiz and an Exercise for practice.
Contents
Suffixes for superlatives
-ísimo
Most adjectives form their superlative by attaching -ísimo.
Just apply one of these 2 formulas:
- If the original adjective ends in a consonant, simply attach -ísimo at the end. Pay attention to possible consonant transformations, such as “z” becoming “c” :
Base Form Superlative Meaning: "extremely..."
débil debilísimo weak
fácil facilísimo easy
difícil dificilísimo difficult
feliz felicísimo happy
- If the original adjective ends in a vowel, first remove that vowel, then attach -ísimo. Again, pay attention to possible consonant transformations:
Base Form 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 masculine singular form ends in “-n” or “-or”, usually form their superlative by adding -císimo:
Base Form 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 replacing that final “-ble” for -bilísimo.
Base Form 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:
Base Form Superlative Meaning: "extremely..."
libre libérrimo free
célebre celebérrimo famous
acre acérrimo bitter
salubre salubérrimo healthy
Superlatives with an irregular stem
Some adjectives have a change in the stem when they form the superlative, apart from attaching one of the suffixes.
Here are some examples:
| Base Form | Superlative | Meaning: "extremely..." |
|---|---|---|
| fuerte | fortísimo | strong |
| sabio | sapientísimo | wise |
| antiguo | antiquísimo | old |
| fiel | fidelísimo | loyal |
| ardiente | ardentísimo | ardent |
| caliente | calentísimo | hot |
| pobre | paupérrimo | poor |
Accent marks
All superlatives have an accent mark on the attached suffix.
If the original adjective already had an accent mark, it loses it in the superlative form.
For example, “fácil” becomes “facilísimo“. It loses its original accent mark, and shows the one on the suffix.
Feminine and plural forms
When we use a superlative adjective in a sentence, we need to match its gender and number to the noun it is connected with.
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, resulting in these 4 forms:
| masculine singular | grandísimo |
| feminine singular | grandísima |
| masculine plural | grandísimos |
| feminine plural | grandísimas |
Example Sentences
The following sentences include superlatives.
Notice how they match the gender and number of the noun:
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.
Practice
Quiz
Take this Quiz to test your knowledge about superlatives:
Exercise
Now we are going to practice with sentences that include superlatives.
A child likes to brag about how impressive all his stuff is. Fill the gaps making superlatives of the words in brackets:
1) Tengo una bicicleta ___ (bueno).
I have a very very good bike.
2) Mis padres la compraron, ellos son ___ (rico).
My parents bought it, they are super rich.
3) Tienen un coche ___ (grande) y ___ (caro).
They have a very very big and expensive car.
4) Mirad, una foto de mi madre. Ella es ___ (joven).
Look, a picture of my mom. She’s super young.
5) Además, es ___ (amable).
Plus, she is extremely nice.
6) Si venís a mi casa, seguro que prepara unos dulces ___ (sabroso).
If you come to my house, surely she prepares some super tasty sweets.
Solutions:
1) buenísima
2) riquísimos
3) grandísimo, carísimo
4) jovencísima
5) amabilísima
6) sabrosísimos
Another type of superlative: with “más” and “menos”
There is another grammar construction in Spanish we also call superlative.
It is when we express that something is “the most ___” or “the least ___”.
We explain that in a separate lesson: Spanish superlatives with “más” and “menos”
Here are two examples of this different type of superlative:
Este coche es el más moderno.
This car is the most modern.Ana es la menos alta de nuestra clase.
Ana is the least tall in our class.
Related topics
Check out these lessons: