Unit
90 the oldest the most expensive
A
HOTEL PRICES IN KINTON
(Per room per night)
Europa Hotel £150 Grosvenor £110
Grand Hotel £130 Bennets £100
Royal £120 Carlton £98
Astoria £115 Star £85
Palace £115 Station £75
Box A is bigger than Box B. !e Europa Hotel is more expensive than the Grand.
Box A is bigger than all the !e Europa Hotel is more expensive than all the other
other boxes. hotels in the city.
Box A is the biggest box. !e Europa Hotel is the most expensive hotel in the
city.
Bigger and more expensive etc. are comparative forms (→ Unit 87).
Biggest and most expensive etc. are superlative forms.
B !e superlative form is -est (oldest) or most … (most expensive).
Short words (old/cheap/nice etc.) → the -est:
old → the oldest cheap → the cheapest nice → the nicest
but good → the best bad → the worst
Spelling (→ Appendix 5): big → the biggest hot → the hottest
Words ending in -y (easy/heavy etc.) → the -iest:
easy → the easiest heavy → the heaviest pretty → the prettiest
Long words (careful/expensive/interesting etc.) → the most … :
careful → the most careful interesting → the most interesting
C We say the oldest … / the most expensive … etc. (with the):
!e church is very old. It’s the oldest building in the town.
(= it is older than all the other buildings)
What is the longest river in the world?
Money is important, but it isn’t the most important thing in life.
Excuse me, where is the nearest bank?
D You can use the oldest / the best / the most expensive etc. without a noun:
Luke is a good player, but he isn’t the best in the team.
(the best = the best player)
E You can use superlative + I’ve ever … / you’ve ever … etc. :
!e film was very bad. I think it’s the worst film I’ve ever seen.
What is the most unusual thing you’ve ever done?
present perfect + ever ➜ Unit 17 older / more expensive ➜ Units 87–88
Exercises Unit
Write sentences with comparatives (older etc.) and superlatives (the oldest etc.).
90
1
big/small
(A/D) A is bigger than D.
(A) A is the biggest.
(B) B is the smallest.
2 A
long/short
B C D (C/A) C is A.
A
B (D) D is
C (B) B
D
3 I’m 23. I’m 19. I’m 24. I’m 21.
young/old
(D/C) D
(B)
(C)
A B C D
4
expensive/cheap
(D/A)
(C)
(A)
A B C D
5
good/bad
(A/C)
(A)
(D)
Complete the sentences. Use a superlative (the oldest etc.).
1 !is building is very old. It’s the oldest building in the town.
2 It was a very happy day. It was of my life.
3 It’s a very good film. It’s I’ve ever seen.
4 She’s a very popular singer. She’s in the country.
5 It was a very bad mistake. It was I’ve ever made.
6 It’s a very pretty village. It’s I’ve ever seen.
7 It was a very cold day. It was of the year.
8 He’s a very boring person. He’s I’ve ever met.
Write sentences with a superlative (the longest etc.). Choose from the boxes.
Sydney Alaska high country river Africa South America
Everest the Nile large city state Australia the world
Brazil Jupiter long mountain planet the USA the solar system
1 Sydney is the largest city in Australia.
2 Everest
3
4
5
6
