The superlative ending is -in; like the comparative ending, it is added to the
inflectional stem, e.g. hullu ‘mad’ : hullu/in ‘maddest’. Consonant gradation
occurs before the superlative ending (§15.6), e.g. helppo ‘easy’ : helpo/in
‘easiest’.
Examples:
Basic form Superlative Inflectional stem §
paksu thick paksu/in –
iso big iso/in –
kiltti good-natured kilte/in –
vanha old vanh/in –
selvä clear selv/in –
kova hard kov/in –
jyrkkä steep jyrk/in –
tarkka exact tark/in –
nopea fast nope/in –
tärkeä important tärke/in –
matala low matal/in –
suuri great suur/in 18.3 (suure-)
pieni small pien/in 18.3 (piene-)
uusi new uus/in 18.4 (uute-)
tavallinen usual tavallis/in 20.1 (tavallise-)
punainen red punais/in 20.1 (punaise-)
kaunis beautiful kaune/in 20.3 (kaunii-)
raitis sober raitte/in 20.3 (raittii-)
vapaa free vapa/in –
vakaa firm vaka/in –
terve healthy terve/in 19 (tervee-)
tuore fresh tuore/in 19 (tuoree-)
puhdas clean puhta/in 20.3 (puhtaa-)
voimakas powerful voimakka/in 20.3 (voimakkaa-)
runsas abundant runsa/in 20.3 (runsaa-)
Before the superlative ending the vowel change rules also apply
(§16): a long vowel shortens, short -a, -ä and -e are dropped, and -i
and -ii change to -e.
Comparison of adjectives 215
Basic form Superlative Inflectional stem §
lyhyt short lyh(y)/in 20.8 (lyhye-)
ohut thin ohu/in 20.8 (ohue-)
The superlative forms also have an unusual declension, which partly
resembles that of the comparative (§85). In the inflectional stem -in changes
to -impa- ~ -impä-, which after consonant gradation becomes -imma- ~ -
inunä-. Before the plural -i- the final -a ~ -ä is dropped.
Superlative basic form Singular Plural
paksu/in thickest Illat. paksu/impa/an paksu/imp/i/in
Ess. paksu/impa/na paksu/imp/i/na
Part. paksu/impa/a paksu/imp/i/a
Gen. paksu/imma/n paksu/imp/i/en
Iness. paksu/imma/ssa paksu/imm/i/ssa
Elat. paksu/imma/sta paksu/imm/i/sta
Adess. paksu/imma/lla paksu/imm/i/lla
Ablat. paksu/imma/lta paksu/imm/i/lta
Allat. paksu/imma/lle paksu/imm/i/lle
Transl. paksu/imma/ksi paksu/imm/i/ksi
In the same way, the adjective selvä ‘clear’ has the superlative basic form
selv/in ‘clearest’, and declines as, for example, selv/impä/än (illative),
selv/immä/stä (elative), selv/imp/i/in (illative plural) and selv/imm/i/llä
(adessive plural).
The partitive singular is normally formed directly from the basic form,
by adding the ending -ta ~ -tä, e.g. paksu/in/ta, selv/in/tä, vanh/in/ta and
voimakka/in/ta. The superlatives of hyvä and pitkä are exceptional.
Basic form Comparative Superlative
hyvä pare/mpi paras ~ parha/in (gen. parhaa/n ~
good better best parha/imma/n,
illat. parha/impa/an,
illat. pl. parha/imp/i/in)
pitkä pite/mpi pis/in (gen. pis/immä/n)
long longer longest
The partitive singular forms here are paras/ta or parha/in/ta, and pis/in/tä,
respectively.
In context the superlative forms function like ordinary adjectives.
Helsinki on Suomen suur/in kaupunki.
Helsinki is Finland’s biggest town.
Oletko käynyt Suomen suur/imma/ssa kaupungissa?
Have you been to Finland’s biggest town?
216 Finnish: An Essential Grammar
Helsinki on kehittynyt Suomen suur/imma/ksi kaupungiksi.
Helsinki has developed into Finland’s biggest town.
Mikä on Suomen vanh/in kaupunki?
Which is Finland’s oldest town?
Rauma kuuluu Suomen vanh/imp/i/in kaupunkeihin.
Rauma is one of Finland’s oldest towns.
Asun kaupungin vanh/imma/ssa osassa.
I live in the oldest part of the town.
Aion muuttaa kaupungin vanh/impa/an osaan.
I’ll move to the oldest part of the town.
Mitkä ovat kirjan vaike/imma/t luvut?
Which are the most difficult chapters of the book?
Viren oli kaikkein nope/in, Virtanen taas hita/in.
Viren was the fastest of all, and Virtanen the slowest.
Kuka pojista on pisin?
Which of the boys is the tallest?
Suomi on yksi maailman pohjois/imm/i/sta maista.
Finland is one of the northernmost countries in the world.
Suomi on maailman pohjois/imp/i/a maita.
Finland is one of the northernmost countries in the world.
Viren on Suomen nope/imp/i/a juoksijoita.
Viren is one of Finland’s fastest runners.
Annan parhaa/n (parhaimma/n) palan sinulle.
I’ll give the best bit to you.
Liha maistuu parhaa/lta (parhaimma/lta) paistettuna.
Meat tastes best when it is roasted.
Kalle on parha/i/ta ystäviäni.
Kalle is one of my best friends.
On halv/in/ta syödä puuroa.
It is cheapest to eat porridge.
Ostan halv/imma/t kengät.
I’ll buy the cheapest shoes.
onko Juhannustanssit Suomen luetu/in kirja?
Is Midsummer Dance the most (widely) read book in Finland?
Comparison of adjectives 217
Heikki Kinnunen on Suomen pidety/imp/i/ä näyttelijöitä.
Heikki Kinnunen is one of Finland’s most popular actors.
The structure for the absolute superlative (meaning ‘most X’ or ‘very X’) is
mitä+superlative, e.g. mitä hullu/in ‘very mad’.
Ehdotus on mitä parhain. The proposal is extremely good.
Näytät mitä terve/immä/ltä. You look most healthy.
Hän teki mitä syv/immä/n He/she exerted a most profound
vaikutuksen kuulijoihin. impression on the listeners.
