Superlatives: the best in town – superlative exercises with -est, the most, in and of
About this lesson
This A2 drill lesson gives superlatives exercises for one thing against a whole group: the + -est or the most, the best and the worst, and in or of after it.
- Grammar
- Spelling with -est (the nicest, the biggest, the easiest), the most for long adjectives, the farthest, comparative or superlative, one of the best + plural, and my best friend without the.
- Topic
- A small town's Best of Riverside awards: the newspaper's winners, Giorgio's thank-you post, a dog owner's interview, a weekend guide and Theo's texts.
- Activities
- Facts to turn into superlatives, in-or-of choices, spelling sorts, anagrams, memory games, word order, tables, matching, quizzes and a chat.
What's inside
Chapter 1The rule
Chapter 2Short adjectives: -est
- Sort the adjectives: how do we add -est?Sort into columnsUnlock
- Choose the right spellingChoose the optionTry it
- Write the superlative of the short adjectiveFill in the gapsUnlock
- Unscramble the superlativesAnagramUnlock
- Find the matching pairs: adjective and superlativeMemory gameUnlock
- Read the facts and drag the superlatives into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Put the words in the right orderUnjumbleUnlock
Chapter 3Long adjectives and the best
- Choose the right form: -est or the most?Choose the optionUnlock
- Write the superlative of the long adjectiveFill in the gapsTry it
- Fill in the gaps: irregular superlativesFill in the gapsUnlock
- Fill in the table: adjective, comparative, superlativeFill in the tableUnlock
- Find the mistake and choose the right wordsQuizUnlock
- Match the beginnings and the endingsMatchUnlock
- Drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
Chapter 4In, of and than
- Choose in or ofChoose the optionUnlock
- Write the superlative and the right prepositionFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the comparative or the superlativeChoose the optionUnlock
- Read the facts and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropTry it
- Put the words in order to make questionsUnjumbleUnlock
- Read and choose the right sentenceQuizUnlock
- Read about the class awards and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 5Real life: Best of Riverside
- Read the article: Best of RiversideReal-life documentUnlock
- Read the article again: true or false?True or falseUnlock
- Read Giorgio's post and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read the interview with Ruth and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read the weekend guide and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Choose the right replies: Theo visits RiversideChatTry it
- Test yourself: choose the right answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 6Homework
- Choose the superlative: my familyChoose the optionUnlock
- Write the superlative: at the mallFill in the gapsUnlock
- Sort the adjectives: how do we make the superlative?Sort into columnsUnlock
- Unscramble the superlative formsAnagramUnlock
- Find the matching pairs: comparative and superlativeMemory gameUnlock
- Fill in the table: comparative and superlativeFill in the tableUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: superlatives with a prepositionFill in the gapsUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: superlativesUnjumbleUnlock
- Is it correct? Mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
- Match the questions and the answersMatchUnlock
- Choose the right form: comparative or superlativeChoose the optionUnlock
- Choose the correct sentenceQuizUnlock
- Read Sadie's postcard and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read the ad and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Read the restaurant review and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
Grammar: superlative adjectives: the -est and the most
A superlative compares one person or thing with the rest of a group: Max is the tallest boy in his class. It comes with the (or my, our…) and takes -est or most, never both: the most tallest is wrong.
Superlatives: the best in town
Compare one person or thing with all the others in a group: the + adjective + -est or the most + adjective.
The + superlative + noun + in / of
The pattern is the, the superlative, a noun and a group: This is the most beautiful park in town. One of the takes a plural noun: one of the best restaurants. With my or our, drop the: my best friend.
One and all the others
theadjective + -est · most + adjectivenounin / of …
Max is the tallest boy in his class.
This is the most beautiful park in town.
Ana is the best singer of all.
One of the best · my best friend
one of the + superlative + plural noun: Giorgio's is one of the best restaurants in town. (Not: one of the best restaurant.) With my, your, our… don't use the: She's my best friend. (Not: the my best friend.)
Spelling: -est, -st, doubling, -iest
One syllable adds -est (the cheapest), after -e, just -st (the safest), one vowel + one consonant doubles (the saddest, but the newest), and y turns into -iest (the busiest). Longer adjectives take the most; good, bad, far give the best, the worst, the farthest.
| The adjective | The rule | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| one syllable | the + est | cheap → the cheapest, tall → the tallest, old → the oldest |
| one syllable, ends in -e | the + st | nice → the nicest, safe → the safest, large → the largest |
| one syllable, ends in one vowel + one consonant | double the last letter + est | big → the biggest, hot → the hottest, sad → the saddest (but: new → the newest) |
| two syllables, ends in consonant + y | y → iest | easy → the easiest, busy → the busiest, happy → the happiest |
| most other adjectives of two or more syllables | the most + adjective | the most modern, the most expensive, the most beautiful |
| irregular | a new word | good → the best, bad → the worst, far → the farthest (or furthest) |
Comparative or superlative?
Two things take the comparative and than; a whole group takes the + superlative: bigger than but the biggest, better than but the best. Than signals a comparative, and the … in or of signals a superlative.
| Adjective | Two things: comparative + than | The whole group: the + superlative |
|---|---|---|
| tall | taller than | the tallest |
| nice | nicer than | the nicest |
| big | bigger than | the biggest |
| easy | easier than | the easiest |
| expensive | more expensive than | the most expensive |
| good | better than | the best |
| bad | worse than | the worst |
| far | farther than | the farthest |
In or of after a superlative
In goes with a place or a group: in town, in the class, in the world. Of goes with all, a number, a plural noun or a time: the youngest of the four brothers. Some places keep their own preposition: on the menu, at the mall.
in + a place or a group (the class, our club)
- in the world · in town · in the city · in the class · in our school
- the biggest park in town
- the youngest student in the class
- Some places keep their own word: on the menu, on Market Street, at the mall.
of + all, a number, a plural noun, a time
- of all · of the three · of my friends · of the year · of my life
- the best pizza of all
- the youngest of the four brothers
Common mistakes
Students often write the more popular for the most popular, the best student of the class, the goodest or the expensivest. And don't drop the: She is the youngest.
Examples
- Ben is the oldest child in the family.one syllable: + est
- This is the nicest café on our street.ends in -e: + st
- Today is the hottest day of the week.double the last letter
- December is the busiest month at the store.y → iest
- Chess is the most difficult game for me.long adjective: the most
- Our team is the best in the city.irregular: good → the best
Common mistakes
Ana is the most tallest girl in the class.
Ana is the tallest girl in the class.
-est or most, never both
It's the more popular game in the world.
It's the most popular game in the world.
the whole group: the most, not more
He is the best student of the class.
He is the best student in the class.
a place or a group (the class, the school): in
These are the goodest cookies in town.
These are the best cookies in town.
good → the best, bad → the worst
Spelling and other traps
Not: the bigest (the biggest), the easyest (the easiest), the expensivest (the most expensive), the baddest (the worst), the most good (the best). Don't forget the: She is the youngest. We never double w: new → the newest, slow → the slowest.
More lessons on this grammar: Comparatives and superlatives lessons and exercises
Try the superlatives exercises
Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.
What's in the lesson
- 39 auto-checked exercises
- 7 games
- 1 real-life document
- 1 grammar scheme
- 1 picture
The main objectives of this lesson are to:
- spell superlatives correctly: August was the wettest month of the summer. Level one is the easiest level in the game, not the wetest or the easyest
- use the most with long adjectives and never with -est: Soccer is the most popular sport at our school, not the most tallest
- use the best, the worst and the farthest: This is the best burger in town! It was the worst meal of the trip.
- choose in or of: the tallest building in the village, the youngest of the four children, and tell a superlative from a comparative
- Grammar:
- superlatives · the -est / the most · the best / the worst / the farthest · in / of after superlatives
- Topic:
- grammar practice · comparing things · awards · hometown · local businesses
Teaching tips
- Run your own class awards: like Room 12 in the lesson, students vote on light categories (the funniest joke, the neatest handwriting, the best snack) and announce the winners in full sentences.
- Rank three things on the board: write three prices, times or distances, and students make one comparative and one superlative from them: The bus is cheaper than the taxi. The bike is the cheapest.
- Write a Best of our town guide: pairs choose three places in their own town and write one superlative sentence for each, then check another pair's prepositions: in town or on Main Street?
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The whole course: English Grammar Practice · A2
English Grammar Practice · A2 has 28 drill lessons, one grammar point each: the past simple and continuous, used to, comparatives, going to and will, the present perfect, modals, the zero and first conditionals and questions. Each has the rule as a scheme, 43 to 47 exercises that check themselves, 15 of them for homework, and no new words.See the course
- 1Past simple with -ed: moving day!
- 2Past simple irregular verbs: we went, we saw, we bought
- 3Past simple negatives and questions: where did the cake go?
- 4Past continuous: what were you doing at 9 p.m.?
- 5Past simple or past continuous: what were you doing when it happened?
- 6Used to: how things were back then
- 7Comparatives: which one is better?
- 8Superlatives: the best in town
- 9As … as, too, enough: is it the right size?
- 10Adverbs of manner: how did she drive?
- 11Much, many, a few, a little: how much do we need?
- 12Possessive pronouns: whose is it?
- 13Be going to: what's your plan?
- 14Will: what will the future bring?
- 15Present continuous for plans: what are you doing tonight?
- 16Will vs going to: decided before or right now?
- 17Present perfect: have you ever tried it?
- 18Just, already, yet: have you done it yet?
- 19For and since: how long have you known her?
- 20Present perfect or past simple: up to now or finished time?
- 21Must and have to: what are the rules?
- 22Should: what should I do?
- 23Can, could, may: could you help me, please?
- 24Verb + to or -ing: what do you enjoy doing?
- 25Zero conditional: what happens if…?
- 26First conditional: what will you do if it rains?
- 27Articles: a, the or no article?
- 28Subject and object questions: who won the quiz?