Superlatives (le/la/les plus / moins …)

Summary

Superlatives express the highest or lowest degree using the definite article plus plus or moins, as in le plus grand (the biggest).

Explanation

The superlative singles out the highest or lowest member of a group. It is built from the comparative by adding the definite article: le / la / les plus (the most) or le / la / les moins (the least) before the adjective: le plus grand, la plus intéressante, les moins chers. The article agrees in gender and number with the noun.

Position matters. When the adjective normally precedes the noun (a BAGS adjective), the superlative also precedes and uses one article: le plus beau jardin, la plus petite maison. When the adjective normally follows the noun, the article is repeated — once before the noun and once before plus / moins: la ville la plus belle, le livre le plus intéressant. The group you choose from is introduced by de ("in/of"): le plus grand de la classe.

With an adverb there is no agreement and the article is always the invariable le: c'est elle qui chante le mieux, il travaille le plus vite. To say the superlative of a quantity, use le plus de / le moins de + noun: c'est lui qui a le plus d'amis.

The irregular forms carry over from the comparative: bon → le meilleur / la meilleure (the best), and the adverb bien → le mieux (best). So c'est la meilleure pizza de la ville but c'est elle qui cuisine le mieux. The two main pitfalls are dropping the second article with post-nominal adjectives (la fille plus intelligente instead of la fille la plus intelligente) and using plus bon instead of meilleur. Rule of thumb: add the agreeing article to the comparative, repeat it when the adjective follows the noun, keep le for adverbs, and introduce the reference group with de.

Examples

C'est le plus grand de la classe. — He is the tallest in the class. (Pre-nominal adjective; reference group with de.)

C'est la ville la plus belle de France. — It's the most beautiful city in France. (Post-nominal adjective: the article is repeated.)

C'est la meilleure pizza de la ville. — It's the best pizza in town. (bon becomes le/la meilleur(e).)

C'est elle qui chante le mieux. — She's the one who sings best. (Adverb bien becomes le mieux; invariable le.)

C'est lui qui a le plus d'amis. — He's the one who has the most friends. (Superlative of quantity: le plus de + noun.)

Common mistakes

Prerequisites

• Comparatives (plus / moins / aussi … que)

Related rules

• Comparatives (plus / moins / aussi … que)
• Adjective agreement
• Adjective position (BAGS / pre- vs post-nominal)