A superlative adjective marks the top of the scale: "tallest", "highest", "bravest", or with emphasis "very high", "most brave".
Can recognize Superlatives recognition in a short Latin prompt
Schau dir diese Beispiele an. Kannst du das grammatische Muster erkennen?
Cicerō ōrātor clārissimus fuit.
Cicerō was the most famous orator.
Facillimum est aliēna reprehendere.
It is very easy to criticize what belongs to others.
Achte auf die hervorgehobenen Teile. Was haben sie gemeinsam?
A superlative adjective marks the top of the scale: "tallest", "highest", "bravest", or with emphasis "very high", "most brave". Latin signals it with the ending -issimus (feminine -issima, neuter -issimum) added to the adjective stem. Once you know this ending, the most emphatic words in a passage light up.
| Plain | Superlative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| altus (high) | altissimus | highest, very high |
| longus (long) | longissimus | longest |
| clarus (famous) | clarissimus | most famous |
| fortis (brave) | fortissimus | bravest |
Examples:
A couple of adjectives whose stem ends in -r double the r instead: pulcher (beautiful) gives pulcherrimus (most beautiful), and facilis (easy) gives facillimus (easiest). These are worth memorizing as they come up.
For English speakers: the trap is choosing between "the ...est" and "very ...". English forces you to pick, and Latin leaves it open: altissimus can be "the highest" (a real comparison of several) or simply "very high" (strong praise with nothing compared). Let the context decide. Do not look for a separate "most" or "very": the whole meaning sits in the -issimus ending.
Wende diese Grammatik in den Übungen des Kurses A1 an
ÜbungsaufgabenCicerō ōrātor clārissimus fuit.
Cicerō was the most famous orator.
Clarissimus is the superlative in -issimus. It can also mean simply 'very famous', with no comparison implied.
Facillimum est aliēna reprehendere.
It is very easy to criticize what belongs to others.
Adjectives in -ilis form the superlative in -limus, not -issimus. There is only a short list of them.
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