The tress are prettiest in the auturmn

[Winwin2011]

I read the following from a book (Grammar In Action-Rosalind Fergusson):

In England, the winter is the coldest season of the year. It is warmer in the spring. The countryside also looks nicer then. The weather is even hotter in the summer.The tress are prettiest in the auturmn, when their leaves change colour.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In superlative forms, we usually use "the -est. Why didn't the author use "the prettiest" in the above sentence?

Thanks.

 

[bhaisahab]

I read the following from a book (Grammar In Action-Rosalind Fergusson):

In England, the winter is the coldest season of the year. It is warmer in the spring. The countryside also looks nicer then. The weather is even hotter in the summer.The trees are prettiest in the auturmn, when their leaves change colour.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In superlative forms, we usually use "the -est. Why didn't the author use "the prettiest" in the above sentence?

Thanks.

The article is optional. I prefer it without.

 

[Winwin2011]

The article is optional. I prefer it without.

Thanks, bhai.

Can I say "In England, the winter is coldest season of the year."?

 

[MikeNewYork]

Thanks, bhai.

Can I say "In England, the winter is coldest season of the year."?

No, that construction doesn't work.

 

[Winwin2011]

The article is optional. I prefer it without.

In what situations can we omit "the" before "-est"?

Thanks.

 

[Barb_D]

Winter is the coldest season. --"the coldest season" -- the superlative comes before a noun.
It is coldest in the winter -- no modified noun comes after "coldest"

The tree are prettiest in the autumn. -- no noun comes after "prettiest"
This is the prettiest tree in my yard. -- "the prettiest tree" -- the superlative comes before a noun.

I'm honestly not sure if this pattern works across the board, but we can try a few more to see if it holds true.

 

[Winwin2011]

Mary and Barbara are both tall, but Barbara's the tallest.

Is the article optional? Thanks for your help.

 

[Raymott]

Mary and Barbara are both tall, but Barbara's the tallest.

Is the article optional? Thanks for your help.

It's optional here. But you have only two people. "Barbara is [the] taller". That is, you use the comparative for two.
But here is another point to consider.

"Mary, Jane and Barbara are all pretty."
"Mary is [the] prettiest."
"Barbara is prettiest in summer." This is ambiguous. It could mean that, in summer, Barbara is prettier than Mary or that, in summer, Barbara is prettier than she is in other seasons. Saying "Barbara is the prettiest in summer" tends to suggest the former.
"Barbara is at her prettiest in summer" means the latter.

 

[Winwin2011]

It's optional here. But you have only two people. "Barbara is [the] taller". That is, you use the comparative for two.

Thanks, Raymott.

Do we use the superlative form in informal spoken English? For example, Which of these two mobile phones do you think is the best.

 

[Rover_KE]

Yes, you'll hear that all the time. Even people who should know better say things like 'Arsenal were the best team on the day' when only two teams were playing.

 

[Winwin2011]

In informal spoken English, e.g Which of these two mobile phones do you think is the best?

Is the article optional? Thanks for your help.

 

[Raymott]

Yes, you'll hear that all the time. Even people who should know better say things like 'Arsenal were the best team on the day' when only two teams were playing.

Yes, we all do it occasionally.

 

[Raymott]

In informal spoken English, e.g Which of these two mobile phones do you think is the best?

Is the article optional? Thanks for your help.

Yes.

 

[Novalia]

I read the following from a book (Grammar In Action-Rosalind Fergusson):

In England, the winter is the coldest season of the year. It is warmer in the spring. The countryside also looks nicer then. The weather is even hotter in the summer.The tress are prettiest in the auturmn, when their leaves change colour.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In superlative forms, we usually use "the -est. Why didn't the author use "the prettiest" in the above sentence?

Thanks.

I think that adding "the" in front of "prettiest" would imply that the trees are prettier than anything else that can be found during that season. Stated another way, I believe that omitting "the" implies the trees are in their prettiest form during that season, and that adding "the" would suggest they become prettier than anything else, such as plants.

 

[Winwin2011]

Joseph and Mathew are the best friends.

Is the article optional?

Thanks for your help.

 

[5jj]

Joseph and Mathew are the best friends.

Is the article optional?

No. It's wrong.

 

[emsr2d2]

You can say "Joseph and Matthew are best friends" or "Joseph and Matthew are the best of friends".

 

[5jj]

You can say "Joseph and Matthew are best friends" or "Joseph and Matthew are the best of friends".

I feel a difference between those two. Best friends are very important people in your life, especially when you are young. Most people have only one, or at most two or three 'best friends'. If two people are the best of friends, the relationship is less intense and less exclusive, in my opinion. It suggests to me that they get on very well, have a very friendly relationship, but that's all. I might say that my ex- and I are the best of friends, indeed that her husband and I are the best of friends. I wouldn't say that we were best friends.

 

[emsr2d2]

Agreed. I should have said that I wasn't suggesting they mean the same thing, just that both constructions are possible.

 

[Barb_D]

I think that adding "the" in front of "prettiest" would imply that the trees are prettier than anything else that can be found during that season. Stated another way, I believe that omitting "the" implies the trees are in their prettiest form during that season, and that adding "the" would suggest they become prettier than anything else, such as plants.

I don't agree with this at all.