Whenasuperlativeadjectiveisfollowedbyanoun,wenormallyuse“the”:
It’sthebestbookI'veeverread.
ThisisthebestmealI’vehadforalongtime.
Afterlinkingverbs,superlativeadjectivesalsousuallyhave“the”,though itissometimesdroppedinaninformalstyle.
Whichoftheboysis(the)strongest?
Thisdictionaryis(the)best.
Sheis(the)mostbeautiful.
“The”cannotbedroppedwhenasuperlativeisusedwithadefining expression.
✓ThisdictionaryisthebestIcouldfind.
✗ThisdictionaryisbestIcouldfind.
“The”issometimesdroppedbeforesuperlativeadverbsinaninformalstyle.
Whocanrun(the)fastest?
Ilikevanillaicecream(the)best.
However,wedonotuse“the”withsuperlativeswhenwecompare thesamepersonorthingindifferentsituations.
Comparingdifferentpeople/thingsComparingthesameperson/thing indifferentsituations
✓Ofallmyfriends,he's(the)nicest.
✓Sheworks(the)hardestinthefamily; herhusbanddoesn’tknowwhatworkis.
✓Allofthosepeoplerunveryfast, butheruns(the)fastest.
✓He’snicestwhenhe'swithchildren.
✓Sheworkshardestwhenshe'sdoing somethingforherfamily.
✓Herunsfastestinthemorning