VF: Lesson - Comparison - Superlative Adjectives - Irregular Forms

Image: a statue of a seated Roman man with the fiercest expression.

Irregular Superlative Adjectives

The image depicts a Roman magister seated in a chair. This magister has the fiercest expression on his face.

There are two types of adjectives that form irregular superlative forms:

adjectives that end in -er (called -er adjectives)
six adjectives that end in -lis (called -lis adjectives)

-er Adjectives

There are -er adjectives in both the 1st/2nd declension and in 3rd declension. Examples include:

liber, libera, liberum - free
pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum - pretty
acer, acris, acre - sharp

Notice that the base may either retain the -e (liber-) or drop the -e (pulchr- and acr-).

Every -er adjective in Latin forms an irregular superlative. To form the superlative degree for these adjectives, use the masculine nominative form (the form ending in -er) instead of the base, then add -rim + 1st/2nd declension endings.

**-er Superlative Formation**
Positive Adjective	Dictionary Entry - Superlative add -rim- to -er form	Comparative Translation
liber, libera, liberum	liber + rim + endings: liberrimus, liberrima, liberrimum	most free, freest
pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum	pulcher + rim + endings pulcherrimus, pulcherrima, pulcherrimum	most beautiful, prettiest, handsomest
acer, acris, acre	acer + rim + endings acerrimus, acerrima, acerrimum	sharpest, fiercest

-er Superlative Adjective Base

The superlative degree forms its dictionary entry as a normal 1st/2nd declension adjective. To obtain the base, remove the feminine ending (-a) from the middle form:

liberrimus, liberrima, liberrimum
- liberrima - a
- Superlative Base: liberrim-

-lis Adjectives

There are several 3rd declension adjectives that end in -lis that use an irregular superlative form. These include the adjectives:

facilis
difficilis
similis
dissimilis
gracilis
humilis

Instead of using -issim-, these adjectives add -lim- to their base before adding 1st/2nd declension adjective endings.

Nota Bene: Be careful to note that not every -lis adjective forms this irregular comparative (utilis, for example, forms a normal superlative: utilissimus).

**-lis Superlative Formation**
Positive Adjective	Dictionary Entry - Superlative add -lim- to the base	Comparative Translation
facilis, facile	Base: facilis - is = facil- facillimus, facillima, facillimum	easiest
difficilis, difficile	Base: difficilis - is = deficil- deficillimus, deficillima, deficillimum	most difficult

-lis Superlative Adjective Base