English 2A

We use a superlative to say that a thing or person is the most of a group. When we use a superlative adjective ('the tallest student') before the noun, we generally use it with 'the'. This is because there's only one (or one group) of the thing we are talking about. There is one student who is the tallest in the class, and because it's clear to the listener which one we mean, we usually use 'the': She's  the  most beautiful girl I've ever seen. It's  the  best café in London. John and Lisa are  the  most intelligent students here. This bowl is  the  biggest one. Remember, we don't use 'the' when there is a possessive: He's my best student. That's our most important goal. It's possible to drop 'the' when the adjective is used later in the sentence, rather than directly before the noun. We can choose either 'the' or 'no article', with no change in meaning: She is (the) most beautiful

We use  comparative  adjectives   to show change or make comparisons: This car is certainly  better  but it’s much  more expensive . I’m feeling  happier  now. We need a  bigger  garden We use  than   when we want to  compare one thing with another : She is two years older  than  me. New York is much bigger  than  Boston. He is a better player  than  Ronaldo. France is a bigger country  than  Britain. When we want to  describe how something or someone changes  we can use two comparatives with  and : The balloon got  bigger and bigger . Everything is getting  more and more expensive . Grandfather is looking  older and older .  We often use  the  with comparative adjectives to  show that one thing depends on another : The faster  you drive, t he more dangerous  it is. (= When you drive faster, it is more dangerous.) The higher  they climbed,  the colder  it got. (= When they climbed higher, it got colder.)