happiest vs most happy (2025)

Hello members...!

I have a sentence to find an error.

- The most happy (1) / marriage would be (2) / a union of a deaf (3) / man to a blind woman. (4) / no error.(5)

The answer suggested by the book is
. 3 - a union ✖
. .. The union.✔ (in the book)

But is it right, here to use "most happy" as there is "happiest" word for the superlative form of "happy" ?

Thanks.

I would have said 'The happiest . . . '.

Are the authors of the book/test native speakers?

Honestly, you should throw that book away. It sounds to me as if it were written 100 years ago by a half-educated <person> .

The happiest marriage would be a union of the deaf.
The happiest marriage would be a man to a blind woman.

< Replace word with one more widely known. Cagey, moderator >

PaulQ said:

Honestly, you should throw that book away. It sounds to me as if it were written 100 years ago by a half-educated < person> .

The happiest marriage would be a union of the deaf.
The happiest marriage would be a man to a blind woman.

Click to expand...

I have seen the same sentence in two different books written by different writers as it was appeared in an exam.

And I wonder they both have same opinions.

That's why I got confused.

It sounds like one author has copied from the other (wrong) author, thus perpetuating the nonsense.

Throw both books away.

It isn't nonsense. Using the vocabulary in the test question, the correct sentence is "The most happy marriage would be the union of a deaf man to a blind woman." It has to be "the union" because it is "The most happy marriage"

It's taken from the writings of Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

The most happy marriage I can picture or imagine to myself would be the union of a deaf man to a blind woman.

Click to expand...

I'll give you that it was written more than 100 years ago, but I've never known Coleridge described as "a half-educated <person>" before I saw this thread.

< Edited to be consistent with previous edit. Cagey, moderator. >

The suitability of the question sentence depends on the level of understanding expected of the student. One with a good understanding of English will be aware that there are two valid forms of the superlative of "happy", both of which continue to exist in modern English. He, or she, will also be aware of the correct use of the definite article. A student who is not so proficient might well be distracted by the less common form of the superlative and so fail to spot the inappropriate indefinite article.

Looks like a good choice of sentence to me.