We use a superlative to say that a thing or person is the most of a group. When we use a superlative adjective ('the tallest student') before the noun, we generally use it with 'the'. This is because there's only one (or one group) of the thing we are talking about. There is one student who is the tallest in the class, and because it's clear to the listener which one we mean, we usually use 'the':

• She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen.
• It's the best café in London.
• John and Lisa are the most intelligent students here.
• This bowl is the biggest one.
• 
  
  
  
  

Remember, we don't use 'the' when there is a possessive:

• He's my best student.
• That's our most important goal.

It's possible to drop 'the' when the adjective is used later in the sentence, rather than directly before the noun. We can choose either 'the' or 'no article', with no change in meaning:

• She is (the) most beautiful.
• This café is (the) best.
• John and Lisa are (the) most intelligent.
• This bowl is (the) biggest.

This is not possible when the adjective comes directly before the noun:

• He is fastest swimmer.
• 
  

Try an exercise about superlatives with 'the' here.

With superlative adverbs, we can also choose to use 'the' or 'no article'.

• Luke reads (the) fastest.
• I like vanilla ice cream (the) best.
• She can speak six languages, but she speaks Spanish (the) most confidently.

These examples all compare one person or thing with other people or things. However, sometimes we compare a person or thing in one situation with the same person or thing in a different situation. In this case, when the superlative adjective or adverb is later in the sentence, we usually don't use 'the'. Compare these two sentences:

• I'm most productive early in the morning [I'm more productive in the morning than I am in the afternoon or the evening].
• I'm the most productive early in the morning [I'm more productive than the other people in my office first thing in the morning].
• 
  
  
  
  

More examples:

• Julie does swimming, running and cycling. She's always most tired after cycling.
• John types most quickly when he's drunk a lot of coffee!
• Tea is˜ best when you drink it very hot.
• London is most depressing in January.

Try another exercise about using 'the' with superlatives here.

(This is an extract from my book: A and The Explained) 

Notes:

1. The written lesson is below.
2. Links to quizzes, tests, etc. are to the left.

There are two types of superlative: relative and absolute.

Relative: John is the smartest boy in the class.

Absolute: John is very smart.

The relative superlative describes a noun within the context of some larger group.

John is the smartest boy in the class.

Mary is the youngest person in the room.

Of the three, Moe is the meanest.

The absolute superlative does not describe the noun in the context of a larger group.

John is very smart.

The book is extremely expensive.

The food is indescribably tasty.

In English, the relative superlative is formed by using the word “most” or the ending “-est.”

John is the most intelligent boy in the class.

Mary is the smartest girl in the class.

In Spanish, the relative superlative construction is similar to the comparative.

definite article + noun + más (menos) + adjective + de

Here are some superlative examples.

Juan es el chico más inteligente de la clase.

John is the smartest boy in the class.

Bill Gates es el hombre más rico de los EEUU.

Bill Gates is the richest man in the U.S.

Just like in English, the noun can be omitted. All of the following are correct.

María es la chica más delgada de la clase.

Mary is the thinnest girl in the class.

María es la más delgada de la clase.

Mary is the thinnest in the class.

The absolute superlative for adjectives has three possible forms.

muy + adjective

sumamente + adjective

adjective + ísimo (-a, -os, -as)

The following translations are somewhat arbitrary. Each superlative statement is a little stronger than the one that precedes it.

muy guapo

very handsome

sumamente guapo

extremely handsome

guapísimo

indescribably handsome

Comparative Adjectives:

 Not As _____ As

“as…as” significa “tan … como”. Observa el ejemplo para entender mejor:

• She is as beautiful as her mother. (Ella es tan bonita como su madre)

Estructura:

Verbo TO BE:

• Sujeto + verbo TO BE + as + adjetivo + as + complementoShe is as stubborn as her father (Ella es tan terca como su padre)

Otros verbos:

• Sujeto + verbo + as + adverbio + as + complementoSouth Americans dance as well as Africans. (Los sudamericanos bailan tan bien como los africanos)
  

Usos:

1. Usamos esta expresión para decir que dos cosas, personas, animales, etc. son parecidos en algún aspecto. Ejemplos:

• Bogotá is as large as Buenos Aires. (Bogotá es tan grande como Buenos Aires)
• Annie runs as fast as Jack. (Annie corre tan rápido como Jack)
• Cats are as agile as lions. (Los gatos son tan ágiles como los leones)

2. También podemos utilizar as…as para decir que dos cosas, personas, lugares son diferentes si usamos el negativo. Ejemplos:

• Madrid isn’t as hot as Rio de Janeiro. (Madrid no es tan caliente como Rio de Janeiro)
• Mobile phones aren’t as expensive as cars. (Los teléfonos móviles no son tan costosos como los autos)
• My brother doesn’t cook as well as me. (Mi hermano no cocina tan bien como yo)
  

as - como

• • play
• He performed the operation exactly as he was told.
  El ejecutó la operación exactamente como se le dijo.
• Nobody knows that subject as I do.Nadie conoce ese tema como yo.

as ... as - tan ... como
not as ... as - no tan ... como

• • play
• His car is as fast as mine.Su auto es tan veloz como el mío.
• They are not as good as you think.Ellos no son tan buenos como tu piensas.

not so ... as - no tan ... como

• • play
• His second book was not so good as the first one.Su segundo libro no fue tan bueno como el primero.
• She was not so beautiful as her mother.Ella no era tan bonita como su madre.

 as if / as though - como si

• • play
• They treat me as if they didn't know me.Me tratan como si no me conocieran
• Bill started to spend money as though he had won the lottery.Bill comenzó gastar dinero como si hubiera ganado la lotería.

than - que

• • play
• They started to have more problems than they expected.Empezaron a tener m ás problemas que lo que esperaban.
• Learning English is more difficult than most people think.Aprender inglés es más dificil que lo que la mayoría cree.
•  
• EXAMPLE:

COMPARATIVE WITH AS..........AS

We use as + adjective/adverb + as to make comparisons when the things we are comparing are equal in some way:

• The world’s biggest bull is as big as a small elephant.
• The weather this summer is as bad as last year. It hasn’t stopped raining for weeks.
• You have to unwrap it as carefully as you can. It’s quite fragile.

The structure as…as is used to compare things that are of similar proportion.

In this case the first as acts as an adverb modifying the adjective or adverb that goes after it. The second as can act as a preposition or conjunction. If it is used as a preposition, it will be followed by a noun or pronoun. If it is used as a conjunction, it will be followed by a clause.

Read the sentences given below.

• He is as cunning as a fox. (Here the first as in this construction modifies the adjective cunning. The second as modifies the noun fox.)
• He drove as fast as he can. (Here the first as modifies the adverb fast and the second as modifies the clause ‘he can’.)
• 

More examples are given below

• You can eat as much as you want.
• She is as tall as her brother.
• He is as good a cook as his wife is! (NOT He is as a good cook as his wife is.)

In a more formal style, we use a structure with less than.

• She is less successful than her brother.

In English, we use a large number of idiomatic expressions with as…as.

Common examples are given below.

• Her hands were as cold as ice.
• She is as hard as nails. She will do really well in business.
• I didn’t dare to go down to the cellar. It was as black as nightdown there.
• She is as deaf as a post.
• Please get here as soon as possible.
• These stories are as old as the hills.

 EXAMPLE CON UN VIDEO: