{"id":3123,"date":"2021-08-24T12:31:21","date_gmt":"2021-08-24T16:31:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/contextos\/?p=3123"},"modified":"2023-08-11T15:15:33","modified_gmt":"2023-08-11T19:15:33","slug":"los-superlativos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/contextos\/los-superlativos\/","title":{"rendered":"Los superlativos"},"content":{"rendered":"
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What is a superlative?<\/h3>\n

Superlatives<\/strong>\u00a0show that something has a quality to the greatest or least degree. For example, someone may be the\u00a0tallest<\/em>\u00a0student in the class, or the\u00a0least studious.<\/em><\/p>\n

Spanish forms the superlative by joining a\u00a0definite article<\/em>\u00a0+\u00a0noun<\/em>\u00a0+\u00a0m\u00e1s\/menos<\/strong>\u00a0+\u00a0adjective<\/em>\u00a0+\u00a0de<\/strong>, as shown in the table below. The noun can be left out if the person or thing being talked about has already been established.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Unit3_Gram_Superlatives_table\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(1)<\/p>\n

\u00bfQui\u00e9n es\u00a0la persona m\u00e1s trabajadora<\/strong>\u00a0de<\/strong>\u00a0la clase?<\/p>\n

Who is the most hardworking person in the class?<\/em><\/p>\n

(2)<\/p>\n

\u00bfMi gata? Es\u00a0la m\u00e1s perezosa de<\/strong>\u00a0todas mis mascotas.<\/p>\n

My cat? It is the laziest of all of my pets.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a1OJO!
\n<\/strong>The adjective must agree in gender and number with the noun it is modifying.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a1OJO!<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Mejor(es)\u00a0<\/strong>(best<\/em>),\u00a0peor(es)\u00a0<\/strong>(worst<\/em>),\u00a0mayor(es)<\/strong>\u00a0(oldest<\/em>), and\u00a0menor(es)<\/strong>\u00a0(youngest<\/em>) can be used in superlative constructions, but without an adjective.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(3)<\/p>\n

La mejor pel\u00edcula<\/strong>\u00a0de la historia es\u00a0El padrino.<\/em><\/p>\n

The best movie of all times is The Godfather.<\/em><\/p>\n

(4)<\/p>\n

La peor pel\u00edcula<\/strong>\u00a0de la historia es\u00a0Frozen<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The worst movie of all times is Frozen.<\/em><\/p>\n

(5)<\/p>\n

Mi hermana es\u00a0la menor de<\/strong>\u00a0mis hermanos. Mi hermano es\u00a0el mayor.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My sister is the youngest of my siblings. My brother is the oldest.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a1OJO!
\n<\/strong>You should use ‘que’<\/strong> instead of ‘de’<\/strong> when instead of a noun (clases, mascotas, ciudades, etc.) you end with a phrase.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(6)<\/p>\n

\u00bfViste ese edificio? Es el<\/strong> m\u00e1s alto que<\/strong> he visto en mi vida<\/p>\n

Did you see that building? It is the tallest I’ve ever seen.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Superlativos con \u201c-\u00edsimo\u201d<\/h3>\n

In Spanish, the suffix\u00a0-\u00edsimo\/a\/os\/as<\/strong>\u00a0can also be used to emphasize the quality expressed. If the adjective ends in a vowel, the vowel is dropped and the suffix is added. If the adjective ends in a consonant, the suffix is added directly to the end of the adjective. As with all adjectives, when the superlative suffix is added, it must agree with the noun in gender and number.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(6)<\/p>\n

La casa es muy grande\u00a0\u2192 La casa es\u00a0grand\u00edsima<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

The house is very big.<\/em><\/p>\n

(7)<\/p>\n

Los estudiantes est\u00e1n muy contentos\u00a0\u2192 Los estudiantes est\u00e1n\u00a0content\u00edsimos<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

The students are very content.<\/em><\/p>\n

(8)<\/p>\n

Es un chico muy querido \u2192 Es un chico\u00a0querid\u00edsimo<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

He is a very kind boy.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a1OJO!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some adjectives will undergo orthographic changes to reflect proper pronunciation.<\/p>\n

c\u00a0\u2192 qu<\/strong>
\nSimp\u00e1tico \u2192\u00a0simpatiqu<\/strong>\u00edsimo
\nPoco \u2192\u00a0poqu<\/strong>\u00edsimo<\/p>\n

g \u2192 gu\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>
\nLargo \u2192 largu<\/strong>\u00edsimo
\nAmargo\u00a0\u2192 amargu<\/strong>\u00edsimo<\/p>\n

z\u00a0\u2192 c\u00a0<\/strong>
\nFeliz\u00a0\u2192 felic<\/strong>\u00edsimo
\nVeloz\u00a0\u2192 veloc<\/strong>\u00edsimo<\/p>\n

Tomado y adaptado de Aprendo<\/em> (Princeton University — Spanish and Portuguese Department)<\/h6>\n

<\/h4>\n

PR\u00c1CTICA<\/h3>\n

Responde a las preguntas con oraciones completas utilizando superlativos.<\/p>\n

Ejemplo: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00bfCu\u00e1l es el mejor peri\u00f3dico de Estados Unidos?<\/p>\n

El mejor peri\u00f3dico (de todos) es el New York Times.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u00bfQui\u00e9n es el mejor o la mejor conductora de noticias de Estados Unidos? \u00bfQui\u00e9n es el peor? \u00bfPor qu\u00e9?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n