Robert Grosseteste

On Mountains

Latin Grammar: Superlatives

Sunt alii montes qui sulphureum ignem fetentem et caliginosum exsufflant et evomunt, ut Ethna, Vesevus, et Chimera. Et qui sunt hii montes nisi huius mundi potentes, in quibus plerisque ardet et fetet vicium luxurie, maxime illud non naturale?

The superlative of all adverbs is formed by taking the superlative of the adjective and adding the ending e, just like you make the regular form of the adverb by adding e to the end of the adjective. So we have the adjective lentus whose superlative is lentissimus, and the corresponding adverb lente whose superlative is lentissime. The good news about this rule is that once you have figured out the superlative of the adjective (which can be irregular like magnus, maximus), the formation of the superlative adverb is completely regular.

Exercise: Find the masculine nominative singular form of the adjectives from which these superlative adverbs are derived. Give the basic form of the adjective, not the superlative.

1. caliginosissime
2. levissime
3. naturalissime
4. maxime
5. pessime
6. asperrime

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