The with Superlatives, Ordinals, Same/Only/Very Quiz | Intermediate Level | 20 Questions & Answers with Explanations

"Tallest" is a superlative, always taking the, so "the tallest" is correct, following the standard superlative rule.

Correct sentence: "She is the tallest of the three sisters."

Memory hook: this pairs directly with the previous question — "taller of the two" (comparative + the, for exactly two) and "tallest of the three" (superlative + the, for three or more) both require the, just for different underlying reasons.

This is an ordinary comparative statement (not explicitly framed as "of the two"), describing the proposal as one option among possibly several being compared generally, so it takes a, not the.

Correct sentence: "This proposal is significantly a more cost-effective option compared to the alternative."

Memory hook: watch carefully for the explicit "of the two/three" framing — its absence here (just "compared to the alternative") keeps this in the ordinary comparative category, taking a, not the.

This is an ordinary comparative comparing two people generally (not "the [comparative] of the two"), so it does NOT take the — instead, it takes a, since "cook" is a countable singular noun being described.

Correct sentence: "He is a better cook than his brother."

Memory hook: a plain comparative ("better than," "taller than") without the specific "of the two/three" structure takes a/an, not the — don't over-apply the superlative rule to ordinary comparatives.

This is the comparative-of-two structure ("of the two designs...the better one"), which requires the, distinct from an ordinary comparative statement.

Correct sentence: "Of the two designs submitted, hers was clearly the better one."

Memory hook: whenever a sentence explicitly sets up "of the two X," the comparative that follows needs the, even though a plain comparative elsewhere would take a/an.

This is another comparative-of-two structure ("of the two candidates...the more experienced"), requiring the, following the same pattern as "the taller of the two sisters."

Correct sentence: "He is the more experienced of the two candidates being considered."

Memory hook: "more experienced," like "better," is a comparative — but the explicit "of the two" framing shifts it into the the-requiring category.

"First" is an ordinal number, always taking the, even when the ordinal-noun combination is followed by additional descriptive information.

Correct sentence: "She was the first woman to be elected mayor of the city."

Memory hook: additional descriptive detail after the ordinal+noun phrase ("to be elected mayor of the city") doesn't change the underlying rule — ordinals still always take the.

"Most difficult" is a superlative, so it takes the, regardless of the intensifying phrase "by far" placed before it.

Correct sentence: "This is by far the most difficult exam I have ever attempted."

Memory hook: intensifiers like "by far," "easily," or "clearly" placed before a superlative don't change the rule — the superlative itself still requires the immediately before it.

"Only" always takes the, regardless of the additional achievement details that follow in the sentence.

Correct sentence: "He remains the only person to have won the award three times in a row."

Memory hook: no matter how much descriptive detail follows "only" in a sentence, the fixed phrase "the only" never changes.

"Same" always takes the, regardless of the intensifying word "exactly" placed before it.

Correct sentence: "That is exactly the same problem we encountered last year."

Memory hook: "exactly the same" is a very common intensified version of the fixed phrase — the intensifier doesn't change the underlying rule.

"Very," meaning "exactly this" (not degree), takes the as part of the fixed phrase, regardless of the longer sentence structure surrounding it.

Correct sentence: "This turned out to be the very outcome we had feared all along."

Memory hook: "the very [noun] we had feared/hoped for/expected" is a common formal sentence pattern — the fixed phrase rule stays consistent within it.

"Taller" is a comparative, and when comparing exactly two things/people, the comparative form still takes the, since it identifies one specific person out of a defined pair.

Correct sentence: "She is the taller of the two sisters."

Memory hook: comparatives don't usually take the in general use ("she is taller than him"), but when comparing exactly two specific, defined items ("the taller of the two"), the is required.

"Most interesting" is a superlative (formed with "most" rather than "-est," but functioning identically), so it takes the.

Correct sentence: "This is the most interesting book I have read this year."

Memory hook: superlatives formed with "most" (most beautiful, most interesting, most difficult) follow the exact same the rule as "-est" superlatives (tallest, best, greatest) — the form doesn't matter, only the function.

"Most qualified" is a superlative, taking the, regardless of the introductory phrase "among all the applicants" that precedes it.

Correct sentence: "Among all the applicants, he was clearly the most qualified for the role."

Memory hook: introductory phrases setting up a comparison group ("among all the applicants," "of everyone in the room") reinforce, rather than change, the superlative + the rule.

This is the comparative-of-two structure ("her two business partners...the better"), requiring the, following the same pattern tested earlier with "the taller of the two sisters."

Correct sentence: "She has always considered him to be the better of her two business partners."

Memory hook: whenever a sentence specifies exactly two people/things being compared, the comparative describing one of them needs the — the number "two" is the key trigger.

This is an ordinary comparative without an explicit "of the two" framing (it's describing his argument generally as weak compared to something unspecified), so it takes a, not the.

Correct sentence: "He gave what many considered a weaker argument during the debate."

Memory hook: without the explicit "of the two/between the two" structure, a comparative describing a single item generally takes a/an, even if a comparison is implied.

"Between the two proposals" explicitly sets up the comparative-of-two structure, so "the simpler one" correctly takes the.

Correct sentence: "Between the two proposals, the board ultimately preferred the simpler one."

Memory hook: "between the two X" functions exactly like "of the two X" — both are explicit two-item comparison setups that require the before the comparative.

"Worst" is a superlative, taking the, regardless of the intensifying word "undoubtedly" placed before it.

Correct sentence: "This is undoubtedly the worst outcome we could have expected from the negotiations."

Memory hook: "worst," like "best," is one of the most common irregular superlatives — it always takes the, just like any other superlative form.

"Only" always takes the, regardless of the interrupting phrase "to this day" placed between the subject and the noun phrase.

Correct sentence: "She remains, to this day, the only witness willing to testify in the case."

Memory hook: interrupting phrases set off by commas ("to this day," "as far as we know") don't change the underlying fixed-phrase rule — mentally skip over them and check the core sentence structure.

"Between the two routes" sets up the comparative-of-two structure, so "the shorter path" correctly takes the.

Correct sentence: "Given the choice between the two routes, most travellers select the shorter path."

Memory hook: this reinforces the "between the two X...the [comparative]" pattern one final time — a very frequently tested structure in formal, decision-based sentences.

"Finest" is a superlative, taking the, regardless of the phrase "of his generation" that follows to establish the comparison group.

Correct sentence: "He is often regarded as the finest musician of his generation."

Memory hook: a phrase establishing the comparison group after the superlative ("of his generation," "in the country," "in the world") reinforces, rather than changes, the superlative + the rule.