Superlatief

Superlatief, or superlative, is a grammatical degree used to express the highest quality within a group. It contrasts with the positive form and the comparative form, which express lower degrees of comparison or relative standing.

In English, the superlative is usually formed in two ways. For short adjectives and some adverbs, it attaches a suffix: tall becomes tallest, small becomes smallest, fast becomes fastest. For longer adjectives and most adverbs, a periphrastic form with most is used: beautiful becomes most beautiful, interesting becomes most interesting, quickly becomes most quickly. Irregular forms exist, such as good becoming best and bad becoming worst.

In Dutch, the term superlatief corresponds to the same concept. The standard approach uses the definite article de or het plus the adjective in its superlative form: de grootste, het grootste. Short, common adjectives often form the superlative with the suffix -ste: groot becoming grootste, mooi becoming mooiste. Longer adjectives or less common ones typically use the periphrastic meest: interessant becoming meest interessant. There are irregulars as well, notably goed becoming beste and veel becoming meest. The superlative is commonly used with a determiner (de/het) to indicate the unique member of a group, for example, het grootste boek in de klas.

The concept also appears in many other languages, with language-specific rules for spelling, pronunciation, and agreement. It is a standard part of grammar instruction and is essential for expressing extremes in description and evaluation.