Spanish: An Essential Grammar

Superlative adverbs

These are formed without the use of the definite article, by either

más/menos+ adverb, or by one of the irregular comparative adverbs such

as mejor:

Es Pedro quien conduce It’s Pedro who drives slowest.

más despacio.

El que baila peor es Antonio. The one who dances worst is

Antonio.

But if the adverb is qualified by a relative clause or by an adjective, then

lo is used:

Conduce [SP] lo más despacio Drive as slowly as you can.

que puedas.

Ven lo más pronto posible. Come as soon as possible.

Note: Lois used also in phrases such as lo más temprano/tarde posible‘as early/late

as possible’, lo antes posible‘as soon as possible’.

To express ideas like ‘works hardest’, ‘eats the most’, the word másshould

be used:

Ana es la que más trabaja. Ana is the one who works

hardest.

La que más come es Pepi. The one who eats the most is

Pepi.

Absolute superlatives ending in -ísimo

The suffix -ísimocan be added to an adjective to intensify its meaning, result-

ing in one corresponding to a strong form of the English ‘very + adjective’.

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26

Comparative
and
superlative
constructions

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Superlative adverbs

Students should resist the temptation to automatically use lowith

superlative adverbs. This is onlyrequired when the adverb is qualified.

So ¿Quién baila mejor?‘Who dances best?’ but Hazlo lo mejor que

puedas‘Do it the best way that you can’.