Sumie's question of May 10, 1999 about superlatives:

We learned that superlative adjectives always need "the" before them at school, but I sometimes find them without taking definite articles, if I remember right. "There are best doctors in ER." or "I am happiest on Fridays.", or whatever. Do they have any different nuances, or are they just incorrect?

The basic answer is no--we don't always need one, but we almost always do. Here are the possibilities that I know of:

1. When showing that something in a group is the best, worst, biggest, etc., we add the before the superlative.

Taka is the tallest student in the class.

A Bug's Life is the most interesting movie I've seen so far this year.

This illustrates the rule given in most grammar books. This rule is a good one to remember, as it will be correct in most cases in which the superlative is used.

2. When comparing something to itself, we don't add the.

Sumie's example: I'm happiest on Fridays.

In this sentence, you are comparing yourself to yourself--how you feel on other days of the week. In other words, you feel happier on Fridays than you do Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, or Sundays.

Sumie provided another good example in class last week:

The lake is deepest in this area.

Again, we are comparing this part of the lake to other parts of the lake. Note that it is also possible to say:

This is the deepest part of the lake.

3. Finally we can say most + adjective to mean very. This is not a superlative, but looks like one because of the use of the word most. Note that we don't add "the" before the adjective.

Michiko: Sumiko, that's a most lovely skirt you're wearing today.

Sumiko: Thank you very much. I'm glad you like it.