Absolute superlative marks quality in the highest or lowest degree.
This Wednesday in the blog of our Spanish school we continue with the superlative theme that we started last week. So, today we are going to explain the meaning and put the examples of absolute superlative use.
Absolute superlative is used to express that something expresses a very high degree in a certain aspect. Also, this something is not related to other objects of its kind. Let’s see it with the scheme:
Adjective / adverb + -ísimo/a/os/as
Examples:
Esta torre es altísima = This tower is very tall
Esta cafetería es cara pero los helados están buenísimos = This cafeteria is expensive but the ice cream is delicious
En España siempre cenan tardísimo = In Spain they always have a very late dinner
As you can see from the examples, the adjective in this case agrees in gender and number with the noun to which it refers. However, with an adjective that has expressed a lot of intensity, it is not necessary to use -ísimo. For example:
La película de ayer fue horrible = Yesterday’s movie was horrible
El pueblo de Morella es maravilloso = The town of Morella is wonderful
Paula es una cantante magnífica = Paula is a magnificent singer
Of course, there are some very important rules of writing of -ísimo that must be taken into account.
If the adjective or adverb ends with a vowel, it is replaced by -ísimo:
Grande – grandísimo = big – very big,
Blanca – blanquísima = White – very white
Interesante – interesantísimo = Interesting – very interesting
If the adjective or adverb ends with a consonant, it is added -ísimo:
Fácil – facilísimo = Easy – very easy
Sutil – sutilísimo = Subtle – very subtle
If the adjective ends in – ble:
Amable – amabilísimo = Kind – very kind
Estable – estabilísimo = Stable – very stable
With adverbs finished in – mente and formed and formed with the feminine singular of an adjective, it is added to the form of the adjective.
Lentamente – lentísimamente = Slowly – very slowly
Rápidamente – rapidísimamente = Quickly – very quickly
Exceptions
However, there are several exceptions to the script rules seen above:
Joven – jovencísimo = Young – very young
Nuevo – novísimo / nuevísimo = new – very new
Poco – poquísimo = Little – very little
Fuerte – fortísimo / fuertísimo = Strong – very strong
Antiguo – antiquísimo = Ancient – very ancient
Fresco – fresquísimo = Fresh – very fresh
Cerca – cerquísima = Close – very close
Lejos – lejísimos = Far – vey far
Conclusions
We hope you liked our post. During our Spanish courses we teach you with examples and practice all the grammar, which at any time you can consult in our library. If you do not know which book is adapted for your level, you can always ask our teachers or the secretariat. However, if you want to practice the use of superlative, we leave this link with the online exercises.
Soon we will publish more posts about that to help you study Spanish. Meanwhile, this Friday we will tell you about the most interesting events in Valencia;)
See you soon!
