The MacMillan Dictionary has the following definition for the phrase ‘there is no question that‘: used for saying that something is definitely true It gives the example: There is no question that she has a great voice. In other words: It is definitely true that she has a great voice. Therefore it appears that the … Read more
Do -ist words (e.g. racist, sexist, etc.) have superlative or comparative forms? Answer Some -ist words are used as adjectives, as I describe in my answer to “Adjectival Usage of Racist“. The -ist words that are used as adjectives, such as racist and sexist, form periphrastic superlatives and comparatives using most and more. This is … Read more
Is “least riskiest” stylistically correct? Can it be considered a double superlative? Would “safest” be a better choice? Answer “Least riskiest” makes no sense. You can, if you wish, apply “least” to an adjective, making the phrase: least risky Although technically the same in meaning as “safest”, it has a different implication. Most people will … Read more
When we compare numbers of people, we can use the phrases: “The highest/lowest number of people was” “The biggest/smallest number of people was” “The most/least people were” That the word “lowest” is an antonym for the word “highest”. What is an antonym of the word “largest” when we compare numbers of people? “The **largest/_________ number … Read more
I’m not a native speaker, and my teacher taught me to use "the biggest number of . . ." when comparing amounts of some things, but I’ve checked it in google which seems like "the largest, the greatest, the highest, and even the most number of. . ." are actually used more often. 1. Which … Read more
Let’s say, there was a bar chart giving 2 different pieces of data for 3 groups. – Monkeys was the ______________ statistic. If you needed to complete the sentence above with a superlative adjective, what would you fill in the blank? Answer One could easily (and best) use “least/most/more” along with another descriptor that defines … Read more
Sorry if the title is confusing. Basically I want to ask people “who has done a certain thing for the most number/times” but I don’t know to properly construct the sentence. Please help me. Answer Numbers can be great, large or high. So, speaking of numbers, you can use ‘greatest’ as the superlative form: Who … Read more
I am writing a scientific document and I need to talk about a device that has not yet been built, but when it is, it will be the most powerful of its kind. So, how do I refer to it? My current sentence: This is the device, the most powerful telescope ever built. Since it … Read more
Can we use superlative when we are talking about 2 or more items? I’m not quite sure about that since the rule says: “Superlative adjectives are used to describe an object which is at the upper or lower limit of a quality”. I wanted to figure out this before talking to my student who wrote … Read more
To create a superlative, when multiple adjectives/adverbs are preceded by most*, but the latter adjective/adverbs should normally be written with the -est suffix, which one of the two following forms is correct/recommended: The most incredible and easy path vs. The most incredible and easiest path Here, easy is meant as easiest, not just easy. Answer … Read more
