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In the unique case of a list of exactly two items, the comparative and the superlative coincidentally refer to the same item, which is why it feels natural to use either term in a set of two; formal language is a somewhat constrained and rigid and artificial set of rules which is why the formal usage is more restrictive (formal language seeks ...
English has two grammatical constructions for expressing comparison: a morphological one formed using the suffixes -er (the "comparative") and -est (the "superlative"), with some irregular forms, and a syntactic one using the adverbs "more", "most", "less" and "least".
Professor Whitney in his Essentials of English Grammar recommends the German original stating "there is an English version, but it is hardly to be used." (p. vi) Meyer-Myklestad, J. (1967). An Advanced English Grammar for Students and Teachers. Universitetsforlaget-Oslo. p. 627. Morenberg, Max (2002). Doing Grammar, 3rd edition. New York ...
A double superlative is the use of both "most" and the suffix "-est" to form the superlative of an adjective in English grammar. [1] This grammatical practice has been contested throughout the history of the English language.
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The degree determiners much/many, little/few, and their comparative and superlative forms more, most, less/fewer, least/fewest all express quantification. Where two forms are given, the first is used with non-count nouns and the second with count nouns (although in colloquial English less and least are frequently also used with count nouns).
In English, the definiteness of a noun phrase is usually marked on the determiner, [32] not on adjectives. But certain adjectives, in particular superlatives, are mostly incompatible with an indefinite interpretation of the NP. [33] Cases like *they were best students seem ungrammatical, though exceptions such as they were best friends exist.