Superlatives_TOEFL Part 13 Writing Skill

 

TOEFL MASTER

WRITING SKILL

“MODIFIER: SUPERLATIVES“

 

Hi, sobat!

Tahukah kamu apa itu modifier? Ya, modifier merupakan sebuah kata atau sekumpulan kata yang memodifikasi kata lainnya dalam sebuah kalimat. Modifiers dalam bahasa Inggris dapat berupa adverb (kata keterangan), adjective (kata sifat), conjunction (kata hubung), article (kata sandang), dan sebagainya.

 

Apa itu Superlatives?

Superlative, disebut juga superlative degree, merupakan perbandingan yang membandingkan tiga atau lebih sesuatu hal, seperti orang, benda, tempat, dan sebagainya, yang mana salah satu dari mereka memiliki sifat yang “paling” di antara lainnya. Perbandingan dengan tipe superlative degree ini ditandai dengan adanya imbuhan suffix (akhiran) yaitu “-est” pada adjective (kata sifat) dan “the most” sebelum kata adjective atau adverb (kata keterangan).

Sementara itu, sebuah adjective memperoleh akhiran –est jika kata tersebut yang terdiri dari dua atau lebih suku kata (two-syllables adjective); serta, mendapatkan “the most” sebelum adjective (kata sifat) atau adverb (kata keterangan) tersebut jika memiliki tiga suku kata atau lebih (three-syllables adjective). Ketika berada di dalam kalimat, superlative degree ini biasanya diikuti preposisi (kata depan), seperti at, of, in, dan lain-lain. Contoh superlative adjective yaitu 1) adjective pada superlative degree: cold - the coldest, patient – the most patient, happy - the happiest, etc. 2) adverb pada superlative degree: fast - the fastest, gently – the most gently, slowly –  the most slowly, etc.

Superlative Degree ini memiliki makna “paling/ter- ... dari/pada/di ...”. Perlu diingat bahwa superlative degree diawali dengan definite article “the” dan diikuti dengan preposisi (kata depan), seperti in, at, of, atau on. Sementara itu, sesudah superlative degree ini umumnya terdapat noun (kata benda), yaitu “the adjective-est + Noun”. Terdapat dua pola kalimat superlative degree, yaitu:

“Subject + Be/Verb + The Adjective/Adverb–Est + At/In/Of + Object”

atau

“Subject + Be/Verb + The Most Adjective/Adverb + At/In/Of + Object”

Baca Juga: Degree of Comparison

 

Pada kesempatan kali ini, kita akan membahas terkait superlative dalam sebuah kalimat.  Yuk, simak penjelasannya berikut ini!

 

Superlatives

Kalimat superlative ini digunakan untuk membandingkan di antara tiga atau lebih sesuatu hal (noun). Berikut ini beberapa hal yang perlu diperhatikan terkait kalimat superlative yaitu:

1.      Adjective yang terdiri dari satu suku kata (one-syllable adjectives) maka berakhiran “-est” dan adjective yang terdiri dari dua suku kata maka berakhiran dengan “-est”; jika kata adjective tersebut memiliki akhiran “-y”dan huruf sebelumnya berupa huruf konsonan maka ubahlah huruf “-y” menjadi “-iest”. Bentuk adjective yang memperoleh akhiran “-est” ini disebut juga regular superlative. Letakkan article “the” sebelum superlative adjective. Perhatikan contoh berikut.

Bill is taller than John, but Bob is the tallest.

Bill is happier than John, but Bob is the happiest.

 

2.      Beberapa adjective yang terdiri dari dua suku kata (two-syllables adjective), seperti yang berakhiran “-ly”, “-d/ed” (past participle), dan “-ing” (present participle), dan adjective yang terdiri dari tiga suku kata (three-syllables adjective) maka tambahkan kata the most sebelum kata adjective tersebut. Perhatikan contoh berikut ini

Susan is more beautiful than Betty, but Jane is the most beautiful.

 

3.      Beberapa adjective memiliki bentuk irregular comparatives, yaitu bentuk kata adjective yang berbeda dalam kalimat superlative, seperti good – the best, bad – the worst, dan lain-lain. Perhatikan contoh berikut ini.

Your book is better than his book, but our book is the best.

Your problem is worse than mine, but his problem is the worst.

 

Catatan:

a.      Selalu gunakan the dalam pola kalimat superlative.

b.      Jangan gunakan bentuk the adjective-est dengan the most … secara bersamaan dalam struktur kalimat comparative.

c.       Jangan letakkan than sesudah superlative adjective.

d.     Perhatikan untuk hanya menggunakan tiga atau lebih sesuatu hal untuk dibandingkan.

e.      Setelah superlative adjective biasanya terdapat preposition (at, of, in, atau on) ataupun conjunction (that).

 

Error Examples

Perhatikan beberapa contoh superlative yang salah pada kalimat berikut ini dan pembenarannya!

 

Wrong Sentence	Right Sentence
Yesterday was coldest day of the year.	Yesterday was the coldest day of the year.
John is the smartest student than anyone else in the class.	John is the smartest student in the class.
We went to Ann’s Restaurant, Ted’s Diner, and Tom’s Cafe, and Ann’s Restaurant served better food.	We went to Ann’s Restaurant, Ted’s Diner, and Tom’s Cafe, and Ann’s Restau- rant served the best food.
I took mathematics, French, and history last semester, and the mathematics course was the better.	I took mathematics, French, and history last semester, and the mathematics course was the best.
She was the most beautifulest woman I had ever seen.	She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

 

Skill Builder 13: Superlatives

Direction: There is some superlatives in these sentences. Decide if the sentences below are correct “C” or incorrect “I”.

(___) 1.  They were the most poorest people I had ever seen.

(___) 2. Germany is one of the most highly industrialized nations in the world.

(___) 3. When he won the contest, he was the most surprised person than the other contestants.

(___) 4.  I went to Belgium, Holland, and England last year, and I liked Belgium better.

(___) 5.  Is the Sahara the largest desert in the world?

(___) 6.  August is hottest and most humid month of the year.

(___) 7. It was the most biggest building I had ever seen.

(___) 8. That company sold the most sophisticated computer equipment that we had ever found.

(___) 9.  Dr. Henderson was the most thorough doctor than Jane had ever known.

(___) 10. John, Phyllis, and Mary were all saving money to go to Egypt, and John saved the most.

(___) 11.  Paula, Susie, and Jill bought new homes, but Paula’s was more elegant.

(___) 12.  Peking is most densely populated city in the world.

(___) 13. The damage caused by the hurricane was the worst than had ever occurred in that state.

(___) 14. She bought a new color television, a stereo unit, and an AM/FM radio, and the television was the most expensive.

(___) 15.   Mary is the fastest runner than the other team members.

(___) 16. You can use any of these three pens, but the red one is the best for marking on heavy material.

 (___) 17.  That place serves the goodest ice cream in town.

 (___) 18. Dr. Jones was certainly among the smartest men I had ever known.

 (___) 19.  He got the baddest grade he had ever received on an exam.

 (___) 20. The crimes committed by that murderer were the most heinous in the history of that town.

 

Key Answer & Its Correction

(I) 1.  They were the poorest people I had ever seen.

(C) 2. Germany is one of the most highly industrialized nations in the world.

(I) 3. When he won the contest, he was the most surprised person of all the contestants.

(I) 4.  I went to Belgium, Holland, and England last year, and I liked Belgium the best.

(C) 5.  Is the Sahara the largest desert in the world?

(I) 6.  August is the hottest and the most humid month of the year.

(I) 7. It was the biggest building I had ever seen.

(C) 8. That company sold the most sophisticated computer equipment that we had ever found.

(I) 9.  Dr. Henderson was the most thorough doctor that Jane had ever known.

(C) 10. John, Phyllis, and Mary were all saving money to go to Egypt, and John saved the most.

(I) 11.  Paula, Susie, and Jill bought new homes, but Paula’s was the most elegant.

(I) 12.  Peking is the most densely populated city in the world.

(I) 13. The damage caused by the hurricane was the worst that had ever occurred in that state.

(C) 14. She bought a new color television, a stereo unit, and an AM/FM radio, and the television was the most expensive.

(I) 15.   Mary is the fastest runner on the team.

(C) 16. You can use any of these three pens, but the red one is the best for marking on heavy material.

(I) 17.  That place serves the best ice cream in town.

(C) 18. Dr. Jones was certainly among the smartest men I had ever known.

(I) 19.  He got the worst grade he had ever received on an exam.

(C) 20. The crimes committed by that murderer were the most heinous in the history of that town.

 

See also:

1.      Part of Speech

2.      Part of Speech: Adjective

3.      Part of Speech: Adverb

4.      Degree of Comparison

5.      Derivatives

 

Source

Peterson`s (www.petersons.com). (2007). Peterson`s Master TOEFL Writing Skills. Peterson`s, a Nelnet Company

 

Demikian tadi sekilas Pembahasan TOEFL Writing Skills terkait “Modifier: Superlatives”. Semoga bermanfaat dan dapat menambah wawasan baru bagi kita dalam mempelajari bahasa Inggris; serta, terutama bagi kalian yang ingin atau akan mengikuti tes TOEFL.

Penulis mengharapkan saran dan kritik yang membangun dari para pembaca berkaitan dengan konteks atau isi tulisan sehingga nantinya hal tersebut dapat penulis jadikan inspirasi dan motivasi untuk melakukan perbaikan dan pengembangan tulisan berikutnya. Terima kasih 😊