Synthetic -ейший and -айший
Synthetic forms decline like long adjectives but are lexically restricted and often stylistically elevated or emphatic.
- Stem alternations accompany many -айший forms. The result may express a true relative maximum or an absolute very-high degree.
- Register checkpoint: Do not generate a synthetic form for every adjective. Confirm productivity, stress, and meaning in a dictionary or corpus.
| Base | Synthetic form | Typical nuance |
|---|---|---|
| си́льный | сильне́йший | strongest / extremely strong |
| ва́жный | важне́йший | most/extremely important |
| стро́гий | строжа́йший | strictest / extremely strict |
| высо́кий | высоча́йший | highest / extremely high |
| ти́хий | тиша́йший | very quiet; lexicalised nuance |
Read the model
3.16 · Synthetic -ейший and -айший · table 1
си́льный · сильне́йший · strongest / extremely strongва́жный · важне́йший · most/extremely importantMini-check
Form recognised synthetic: ва́жный; стро́гий. Why can важне́йший be ambiguous?
Apply this next
- Say the Russian examples aloud, cover the model, and retrieve the pattern once before continuing.