Ch 15 · Lesson 17Spanish · Chapter 15 · Lesson 17 · Grammar primer
Carísimo: the -ísimo ending
-ísimo means extremely, with no comparison: becomes carísimo, becomes riquísimo.
The short version
-ísimo means extremely, with no comparison
riquísima.
Why?Hide
Drop the final vowel and add -ísimo: becomes carísimo, becomes buenísimo. It agrees like any adjective ( carísima) and already means very, so never put in front of it. Watch the spelling: gives riquísimo and gives felicísimo.
-ísimo: the absolute superlative
-ísimo compares with nothing. It just turns the adjective up to extremely:
- bueno
- muy bueno
- buenísimo
Drop the final vowel and add -ísimo:
| Adjective | -ísimo | English |
|---|---|---|
| carísimo | extremely expensive |
| buenísimo | really good |
| grandísimo | huge |
| | a huge amount |
| facilísimo | dead easy |
The adjective's own accent goes, because -ísimo takes the stress: becomes facilísimo. The ending agrees like any adjective:
carísima.- This house is extremely expensive.buenísimos.- The books are really good.
Since -ísimo already means very, never put in front of it: carísimo, not carísimo.
Spelling changes before -ísimo
A few endings change their spelling to keep the sound:
| Ending | Adjective | -ísimo |
|---|---|---|
| -co: c → qu | | riquísimo |
| -go: g → gu | | larguísimo |
| -z: z → c | | felicísimo |
| -ble | | amabilísimo |
Before i, a plain c would sound like th or s and a plain g like the ch in loch, so qu and gu keep the hard sound. Spanish writes c, not z, before i. The -ble adjectives go back to an older -bil stem:
riquísima.- The food is delicious.larguísimo.- It's an extremely long road.
Mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| the group normally takes | |
| best in quality is | |
| adds - in the plural | |
| the adjective agrees | |
| carísimo | carísimo | -ísimo already means very |
| ricísimo | riquísimo | c becomes qu before i |
| felizísimo | felicísimo | z becomes c before i |
Going further: Superlatives at a glance and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
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