articles - Is there always a "the" before a superlative adjective?

For example:

I could not face being alone again and losing the person dearest to me.

I wonder why there is no "the" in front of "dearest".

Answer

The noun superlative

The the is there, two words ahead of the superlative adjective. Usually in English the adjective comes ahead of the noun, but in this sentence it comes after the noun. The is not so flexible,* so it still precedes the noun. You could also write it like this:

(1) I could not face being alone again and losing the dearest person to me.

The noun superlative is actually a very standard construction. Here are some typical examples:

The person most capable should be chosen for the job.

The person last to use the bathroom is responsible for cleaning it up.

The motion-picture camera is the tool closest to the human sense of observation. [Source]

As your example and the last two examples illustrate, the reason for putting the superlative after the noun is often to avoid separating the superlative from a prepositional phrase that modifies it: “dearest to me”, “closest to [something]”. My sentence (1) sounds a little awkward because it separates the superlative from its prepositional phrase, though it’s still grammatical and comprehensible. If you really wanted to put dearest first, you’d probably rewrite it with a phrase or clause that modifies the noun phrase as a whole, although this invokes a different sense of dearest (no longer the superlative of dear to me but dear to general):

(2) I could not face being alone again and losing the dearest person I know.

When the modifies the adjective but the noun won’t take an article, then you have to put the after the noun:

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Henry the Eighth, also known as Henry the Fattest, Henry the Meanest, and Henry the Worst (well, the worst after King John).

You actually don’t need the

There actually isn’t any special rule that a superlative requires the. It’s just that a doesn’t make sense there, since a means to pick one of many, and by definition a superlative has only one instance. But you can use other determiners that can refer to a unique instance, including no article at all:

…that most cunning of animals, the fox. [Source]

I sent my fastest galloper to Daleer Khan. [Source]

This fastest car will not be in garages any time soon. [Source. This one is unusual, but it shows that it can be done. Context must provide something for this to point to.]

Alan seemed most likely to succeed. [Source]

“Rapunzel is fairest of all.” [Source]

You can even put a in front of a superlative when you intend the superlative to designate only a very high degree of something rather than the one item with the highest degree:

The hermitage is a most curious piece of architecture. [Source]

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^{* But maybe CarSmack can figure out a phrase of the form adj noun the (not like “Henry the Eighth”, etc.).}