Superlative can refer to the highest degree of excellence: "Roger Federer maintained a superlative level for many years."
Superlative (from the Latin superlatīvus ) is an adjective that refers to something very great and out of the ordinary, with a maximum degree of excellence. For example: «Roger Federer showed for years a superlative level that allowed him to top the world ranking» , « The boy made a superlative effort and walked more than twenty kilometers in the snow to find his father . "It was a superlative show, with two hundred artists on stage."
Specifically, we could establish that the use of the superlative is used in cases in which we wish to perfectly record the difference that exists between two or more elements. It is important to know that to establish that one, one must necessarily resort to what the definite article is. A clear example of this nuance that we have established is the following sentence: "Juan is the smartest of the students in the Physics and Chemistry class."
Likewise, it must be made clear that the superlative can also be formed using the adverb of quantity "very" , which will be placed before the adjective in question. An example of this could be the phrase that we present below: "Eva is very tall compared to girls of the same age."
Regular superlatives
The degree to which adjectives acquire to name the characteristics already mentioned is known as superlative. Regular superlatives are formed by adding the suffix very good to the root of the adjective in a positive degree ( very good , very high , very delicious , etc.): "Juan is a very good boy who never makes his parents disappoint" , "My Physical Education teacher He is a very tall man who plays basketball," "I congratulate you, the food is delicious."
In addition to all of the above, it must also be made clear that there is a series of adjectives in Spanish that clearly do not allow the formation of the superlative using a suffix. Among those we could highlight the following: heroic , close , Catholic , previous or blind , among many others.
Thus, in order to be able to create their superlative, in that case what you have to do is place the aforementioned adverb "very" in front of them. This means, therefore, that the superlative of next is not very close , but very close .
It is also important to keep in mind that under no circumstances can superlatives be formed using the two formulas mentioned, that is, with a suffix and also with the adverb "very" .
Regular superlatives are developed by adding the suffix "very strong" to the root of the adjective: "It is a very strong drink."
The irregulars
Irregular superlatives , on the other hand, can have their own form ( supreme , minimum ) or substantially modify the root of the adjective ( fortísimo , ancient ).
«With a supreme speech, the candidate conquered the vast majority of voters», "It is minimal damage if we take into account the violence of the impact", "I don't like this drink, it's very strong and I don't usually drink alcohol" y "Be careful with that object: it is very old and worth thousands of dollars" son frases que muestran su uso.
Absolute and relative superlatives
Superlatives can also be differentiated between absolute superlatives (they indicate the highest degree of the adjective) and relative superlatives (they refer to the maximum or minimum degree of the adjective, but only within a set).
«The weather conditions are optimal, they couldn't be better» y «Put on your most formal dress and accompany me to the party» soon expresiones que evidencian esta distinción.