6.4 Grammar: Superlatives

Superlatives: The MOST VERY BEST

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We use adjectives to describe things. Sometimes we make adjectives into superlatives. This refers to the ‘most’ or ‘-est’ degree in English, as in the sentence, “Russia is the biggest country in the world,” or “Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world,” or “Russian is the most beautiful language in the world,” or “Borsht is the most delicious soup in the world.” You get the idea. Some of what I said is fact and some is pure personal opinion.

For example:

	1. Ру́сский язы́к – са́мый краси́вый язы́к в ми́ре. ‘Russian is the most beautiful language in the world.’
	2. О́зеро Байка́л – са́мое глубо́кое в ми́ре. ‘Lake Baikal is the deepest in the world.’
	3. Росси́я – са́мая большая страна́ в ми́ре. ‘Russia is the biggest country in the world.’
	4. Борщ – са́мый вку́сный суп в ми́ре. ‘Borsht is the most delicious (best) soup in the world.’
	5. Ру́сское кино́ – самое интере́сное в ми́ре. ‘Russian cinema is the most interesting (cinema) in the world.’
	6. Ру́сские лю́ди са́мые до́брые в ми́ре? ‘Are Russian people the kindest (people) in the world?’

In the examples above, notice that the ending of СА́МЫЙ, like that of all other well-behaved adjectives, changes to agree with the noun it modifies. The gender and number (and case) of the noun being described must be reflected in the ending of nouns and adjectives, including СА́МЫЙ.

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The one MAJOR exception to this extremely general rule, and, yes, there are always exceptions, is the word for ‘BEST’. To say the ‘best’, use the word ЛУ́ЧШИЙ.

Notice in the examples above that the ending of ЛУ́ЧШИЙ always agrees with the gender and number (and case) of the noun it modifies.

You can even say, СА́МЫЙ ЛУ́ЧШИЙ to express the notion of ‘very best’.