#6 A1 Superlatives Hello, and welcome back to podcasts at English for French. I’m Alison and today’s podcast is all about superlatives (aujourd’hui on va regarder comment utiliser des superlatifs en anglais).We use superlatives all the time so they can be very useful. Superlative comes from the Latin and old French word “super,” which means to be above or beyond. We use superlatives when we look at one thing and compare it to other similar things and find it to be at the upper or lower limit in quality, quantity, etc.—it could be people, cities, cars, or a day of the week—and we describe the higher or lower quality, size between them.(Les superlatifs sont utilisés pour décrire quelque chose et sa qualité , quantité , taille, etc., en comparaison avec toutes les autres choses dans la même catégorie , par exemple, « my dog is the best dog », en utilisant le superlative on indique que « mon chien est le meilleur chien de tous les chiens ».) Short Words (1 Syllable) Let’s start with the most common. In English, we categorize our adjectives by how long they are—specifically, by how many syllables, or vowel sounds, they have. When an adjective is short like tall, fast, small, or cold, the rule is easy. We put the word “the” in front of the adjective and we take that short adjective, and we add -est directly onto the end of it. All superlatives start with the word “The”, the biggest car, the smallest cat etc. The Structure: The + Superlative Let's listen to how this sounds in natural, everyday conversation: Tall – The tallest: Imagine you are standing next to your friends. “Tom is the tallest of my friends” Fast - Fastest: Think about transport. “Most cars are fast but the Ferrari is the fastest” Old - Oldest: “He has lots of animals but his dog is the oldest” The "CVC" Spelling Rule Now, let's pause for a quick written tip. When you are writing these down, look closely at short words like big, hot, or sad. These words end in a specific pattern: a Consonant, a Vowel, and another Consonant (CVC). Si l’adjectif d’une syllabe finit par une consonne, une voyelle et une consonne, on double la dernière consonne. When a one-syllable word does this, we must double that very last letter before we add our -est ( there are exceptions with vowel sounds like slow). Let's listen to how they sound. Big – the biggest: (spelt b-i-g-g-e-s-t). "An elephant is the biggest land mammal” Hot – The hottest: (spelt h-o-t-t-e-s-t). "The South of France is the hottest region ." So..Short words? Just add the and -est. Donc pour les adjectifs d’un syllable on ajoute –the et « est » (et si le mot finit par consonne, voyelle, consonne on double la dernière consonne.) The "Y" Words (2 Syllables) So here’s the rule for words ending in Y with 2 syllables, words we use for example to describe feelings and traits, like happy, heavy, easy, or friendly. . When we want to make a superlative, we add “the” in front and drop the -y completely from the adjective, and then add our superlative ending -iest. Let's break these down with some clear examples so you can hear the rhythm: Happy- the Happiest: (spelt h-a-p-p-i-e-s-t). Imagine your friend had a bad week last week, but today they are smiling. You can say, "”This is the happiest she has ever been” “c’est la plus heureuse elle n’a jamais été”. Heavy – the Heaviest: Think about packing for a vacation. You lift your suitcases. "The blue suitcase is the heaviest." “La valise bleue est la plus lourde”. Easy-the Easiest: Maybe you tried learning a language before, but English is better for you. You might say, "English grammar is the easiest”( “La grammaire anglaise est la plus facile”) Notice how the rhythm changes slightly, but the ending sound is exactly the same as our short words. The happiest, the heaviest, the easiest. The Long Words (2 or More Syllables) Now the third group. What do we do when an adjective is long a, 2 or more syllables? Words like beautiful, expensive, interesting, and comfortable. English speakers prefer a smooth vocal flow, so we do not change the long adjective at all. The adjective doesn’t change, but we place “the” and then add a word right in front of it: most/least . Pour garder la musicalité de l’anglais, nous ne changeons pas les adjectifs longs et on ajoute « the »(le, la , les ) devant l’adjectif(comme pour tous les superlatifs ), et puis on ajoute most (plus) ou least ( moins) devant l’adjectif The Structure: The most/least + Adjective Let's listen to how this sounds when we put it into full sentences: Expensive- The most expensive: Think about shopping. You see a beautiful dress in a shop window . “That is the most beautiful dress in the shop” Beautiful-The most beautiful: Imagine travelling. You are standing on a hill looking at a sunset over the ocean. You might think, "This is the most amazing sunset I have ever seen” (C’est le plus beau coucher du soleil je n’ai jamais vu” Interesting- The least interesting: Think about books or movies. "His last book was the least interesting” (son dernier livre était le moins intéressant) So, for long words, remember the golden rule: Don't change the adjective. (Irregular Superlatives) Irregular adjectives. These are words that don’t follow the rules. They don't take an "-est",/iest and they don't use the word "most/least." Les superlatifs irréguliers ne suivent pas les règles . For A1 level, there are really only three irregulars that you need to know because you will use them often. Good The word good does not become "goodest". Instead, it transforms into the word the best. Le mot “good “ , bien , devient le mot best , meilleur(e). Let's think about food. You go to a restaurant, and the food is okay. But then you go home and eat your mother's cooking. You would say, "My mother's cooking is the best” Bad The word bad does not become "baddest". It transforms into the worst (spelt w-o-r-s-t).Le mot “bad” , mauvais devient “the worst”, le /la/les pire . Think about the weather. Yesterday it was raining, but today it is raining and cold. "The weather today is the worst of this week” Or think about being stuck in traffic. "The morning traffic is the worst” Far The word far becomes furthest, not more far, le mot “far” devient the furthest, le /la/les plus loin. “Rome is the furthest she has travelled”.. “Rome est le plus loin elle a voyage” Now that we have seen all four categories, let’s take a moment to review. When you want to compare one thing to all other things, ask yourself just one question: How long is the word? Adjective Type Base Word Comparative Form Example Sentence Short (1 Syllable) CVC Fast Hot The Fastest The Hottest A Ferrari is the fastest car Provence is the hottest region 2 Syllables)Ends in "Y" Easy The Easiest Lesson #1 is the easiest lesson Long (2+ Syllables) Comfortable The most/least comfortable The sofa is the most comfortable piece of furniture Irregular Good / Bad/Far The best The worst The furthest This is the best concert This is the worst day this month This is the furthest I have run Today, I want you to try a little exercise. Look at the things around you right now. Look at your phone, your shoes, your cup of coffee, or the weather outside your window. Try to make just two or three sentences in your head, using superlatives ( the best cup of coffee , the most comfortable shoes etc. Pour vous entrainer, regardez autour de vous, essayez d’utiliser des superlatifs pour des choses simples, faites des phrases. Is this the best or the worst podcast? The more you practice, the more natural it will become. Thank you for listening. I hope you enjoyed this podcast. See you soon at podcasts with Alison at English for French. Keep practicing Cheers
