< Latin II
Latin II/Superlatives
Salvēte omnēs! Welcome back to Latin for Wikiversity. Last time we learned how to compare two things using comparatives. Today we'll learn how to say something is "the best," "the tallest," or "the bravest" using superlatives.
New Grammar
Making superlatives in Latin is simple! For most adjectives, add -issimus (-issima, -issimum) to the stem:
| Basic | Superlative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| longus | longissimus | longest |
| altus | altissimus | highest/tallest |
| clārus | clārissimus | most famous |
Just like with comparatives, some common adjectives have special forms:
| Basic | Superlative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| bonus | optimus | best |
| malus | pessimus | worst |
| magnus | maximus | biggest |
| parvus | minimus | smallest |
Remember: Superlatives are adjectives, so they must agree with their nouns in gender, number, and case:
- Templum altissimum = the tallest temple (neuter)
- Puella fortissima = the bravest girl (feminine)
- Puer optimus = the best boy (masculine)
New Words
| Latin | English | Audio (Classical) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| clārus, -a, -um | famous, clear | ||
| omnium | of all | Used with superlatives | |
| urbs, urbis (f.) | city | ||
| mons, montis (m.) | mountain |
New Sentences
| Latin | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rōma est urbs clārissima. | Rome is the most famous city. | Simple superlative |
| Mārcus est discipulus optimus. | Marcus is the best student. | Irregular superlative |
| Hic mons est altissimus omnium. | This mountain is the highest of all. | With omnium |
| Mater mea est fēmina fortissima. | My mother is the bravest woman. | With possession |
| Templum maximum in urbe est. | The biggest temple is in the city. | Place phrase |
| Liber pessimus omnium est. | It is the worst book of all. | Irregular with omnium |
| Pater tuus est vir sapientissimus. | Your father is the wisest man. | Family terms |
| Haec via est brevissima. | This road is the shortest. | Demonstrative |
| Rōma est urbs pulcherrima Italiae. | Rome is the most beautiful city of Italy. | Genitive of whole |
| Hic puer minimus classis est. | This boy is the smallest in the class. | Irregular superlative |
Practice
| Practice and learn the words and phrases in this lesson | |
|---|---|
| Note that the Memrise stage covers the content for all lessons in each stage. If you are skipping previous stages you may need to manually "ignore" the words in previous levels (use the 'select all' function) | |
Now you can express not just that something is "better," but that it's "the best"! Next time, we'll practice using comparatives and superlatives together. Valēte!
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