Italian adjectives
Sign up for free to get all information about private lessons and our available group courses (A1, A2, B2, B2, C1, C2)
Sign up for freeThe adjective provides information about nouns.
una giacca rossa
a red jacket
i bambini inglesi
English children
Lesson outline
Hide
Agreement of adjectives
In Italian, every adjective changes its form to agree with the gender and the number of the noun it refers to.
| Singular | Plural | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | bello | belli | handsome |
| Feminine | bella | belle | beautiful |
There are some exceptions:
Adjectives ending in -e
Adjectives ending in -a
Adjectives ending in -tore
Adjectives with roots ending in -c or -g
Invariable adjectives
Have a question?
Take online language lessons with a professional teacher
- Native & verified teachers
- Free trial lesson
- Learning materials included
Anna C. 
Diana P.
Elena C.
Damla Deniz T. 
Martina F.
Beatrice E.
Francesca V.
Margherita C.
Eleonora P.
Federica P.
Italian adjective list
The Italian language distinguishes the following adjectives:
- Qualifying adjectives
- Possessive adjectives
- Demonstrative adjectives
- Indefinite adjectives
- Numeral adjectives
- Interrogative adjectives
Qualifying adjectives
In Italian, qualifying adjectives can precede of follow the noun
| Position | Function | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| before the noun | attributive | Ho trascorso una fantastica giornata con te | I spent a wonderful day with you |
| after the noun | predicative | Quello è un posto sicuro | That is a safe place |
Some qualifying adjectives have different meanings depending on their position
| Italian | English | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| un buon amico | a real friend | un amico buono | a kind friend |
| diverse persone | several people | persone diverse | different people |
Comparative and superlative adjectives
Qualifying adjectives have comparative and superlative forms. They are used to make comparisons between two terms.
Italian | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | simpatico | nice |
| Comparative of majority | più simpatico | nicer |
| Comparative of minority | meno simpatico | less nice |
| Comparative of equality | simpatico come | nice as |
| Relative superlative | il più simpatico | the nicest |
| Absolute superlative | simpaticissimo | very nice |
Let's analize the following example
| Qualifying adjective | Comparative of majority | Comparative of minority | Comparative of equality | Relative superlative | Absolute superlative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italian | Federico è intelligente | Federico è più intelligente di Luca | Federico è meno intelligente di Giovanni | Federico è intelligente come Matteo | Federico è il più intelligente della classe | Federico è intelligentissimo |
| English | Federico is clever | Federico is more clever than Luca | Federico is less clever than Giovanni | Federico is as clever as Matteo | Federico is the most clever in the class | Federico is very clever |
Possessive adjectives
Possessive adjectives indicate possession of one or more elements by any subject or object in speech.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| mio | my |
| tuo | your |
| suo | his/her |
| nostro | our |
| vostro | your |
| loro | their |
Take a look at the following examples
La mia giacca è sul tavolo.
My jacket is on the table.
La vostra camera è disordinata.
Your room is untidy.
Demonstrative adjectives
Demonstrative adjectives are used to refer to an element whose entity and properties are precisely known.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| questo | this |
| questi | these |
| quello | that |
| quelli | those |
Let's see some examples
Questo biglietto del treno è caro.
This train ticket is expensive.
Quelli scarpe sono molto belle.
Those shoes are really nice.
Indefinite adjectives
Indefinite adjectives refer to someone or something without specifying any quantity or any quality accurately.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| nessuno | nobody, none |
| alcuno | nobody, none |
| ciascuno | each |
| ogni | every |
| qualunque | any |
| qualsiasi | any |
| certo | certain, some |
| molto | much, many, very, a lot |
| troppo | too much, too many |
| tanto | much, many, very, a lot |
| diversi | some, many |
| parecchio | much, many, a lot |
| poco | few, little |
| tutto | all, every |
| altro | other, more |
| qualche | some, few |
| alcuni | some, few |
Take a look at the following examples
Qualche speranza c'è ancora
There is still some hope.
Ogni studente deve studiare
Every student has to study.
Numeral adjectives
Numbers can be used as adjectives to modify a noun.
| Italian | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Cardinal | uno, due, tre... | one, two, three |
| Ordinal | il primo, il secondo, il terzo... | the first, the second, the third |
Let's see some examples
Ci sono due caramelle nella scatola.
There are two sweets in the box.
Oggi è il quarto giorno della settimana.
Today is the fourth day of the week.
Interrogative adjectives
Interrogative adjectives introduce a question or a doubt.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| che...? | what ...? |
| quale...? | what...? |
| quanto...? | how much / how many / how long? |
Take a look at the following examples.
Quale bottiglia devo prendere?
What bottle do I have to take?
Quanto tempo è passato?
How long has it been?