superlative

last changed in 2002

Some adjectives and adverbs have inflections which are traditionally called 'superlative' and which are typically signalled by the suffix -est: biggest, soonest, most. Superlative adjectives are syntactically distinct from other adjective inflections in that:

• they require a definite determiner,
• they can easily be used without a parent common noun,
• they allow an of phrase:

These noun-like characteristics suggest that superlative adjectives may in fact be a mixed category which is both an adjective and a noun.

See also comparative.
 

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