Grammar · Free lesson
The cheapest option: use superlatives in a group
You compare three bags in a shop. One costs £20, one £35 and one £50. How do you identify the lowest-priced option without listing every comparison?
Professor Scott MendozaThe short answer
Use a superlative to place something at one end of a group: the cheapest bag or the most expensive bag. Cheap becomes cheapest; expensive uses most expensive. Do not combine most with cheapest.
Name the group, then identify its extreme.
The £20 bag is the cheapest bag in this shop display. The £50 bag is the most expensive. For these ordinary noun phrases, put the before the superlative. Cheap takes -est; the longer adjective expensive uses most. The group limits your claim.
Three bags, two price extremes
The blue bag is the cheapest bag in the display.
The red bag is the most expensive bag in the display.
Cheapest means lowest in price, not necessarily best in quality. In the display limits the comparison to the bags you can see.
Make the price claim precise
Choose the quality
cheap
Use its superlative
the cheapest bag
State the group
the cheapest bag in the display
Try it now
Identify the price extreme.
Read all answers and explanations
The blue bag costs £20, the green bag £35 and the red bag £50. Complete: “The blue bag is ___ bag in the display.”
the cheapest£20 is the lowest of the three prices, so the cheapest fits. Most expensive selects the highest price. Cheaper than cannot fill this noun phrase.
Choose the correct superlative form of expensive.
the most expensiveExpensive uses most expensive. Do not add -est or combine both patterns.
Keep the meaning “lowest-priced of all the bags in this display.” Which phrase expresses it?
the cheapest bag in the displayThe cheapest bag in the display identifies the price extreme in the stated group. Cheap or cheaper alone does not make that full claim.
Put it into practice
Repair the price label.
Keep the noun bag and the meaning lowest-priced in the display. Correct the superlative.
This is the most cheapest bag in the display.
See a model answer
This is the cheapest bag in the display.
Use one superlative pattern and keep the ordinary noun phrase complete.
A little more clarity
Common questions
A few useful details before you move on.
Is goodest the superlative of good?
No. Good has the irregular superlative best. A bag can be the cheapest without being the best choice for your needs.
This is the best bag for carrying my laptop.
Must I name the group every time?
No, if the conversation already makes it clear. Name it when leaving it out would make your claim uncertain or too broad.
Of these three bags, the blue one is the cheapest.
Take it into your day
Use the cheapest for cheap and the most expensive for expensive. State the group when it is not already clear.
Your next step · Available on Udemy
Turn adjective patterns into clear descriptions.
This short lesson practices one comparison decision. The English Grammar and English Speaking course includes Superlative Adjectives with Learn it, Review it, Use it and Practice it lessons, alongside broader grammar and speaking practice.
Explore the course English Master Course: English Grammar and English Speaking