Italian comparatives, superlatives (adjectives/adverbs)
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Sign up for freeComparative and superlative constructions are used to make comparisons between two or more terms.
Lesson outline
Hide- 1.Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
- 1.1.Comparative adjectives in Italian
- 1.1.1.Comparative of majority
- 1.1.2.Comparative of minority
- 1.1.3.Comparative of equality
- 1.1.4. Irregular forms of the comparative of majority
- 1.2.Superlative adjectives in Italian
- 1.2.1.Relative superlative
- 1.2.2. Absolute superlative
- 1.2.3.Other ways to form the absolute superlative
- 1.2.4.Irregular superlative form
- 2.Comparative and Superlative Adverbs
- 2.1.Comparative adverbs in Italian
- 2.1.1.Comparative of majority
- 2.1.2.Comparative of minority
- 2.1.3.Comparative of equality
- 2.2.Superlative adverbs in Italian
- 2.2.1.Relative superlative
- 2.2.2. Absolute superlative
- 2.2.3.Irregular forms
- 3.Exercises
- 3.1.Exercise on the comparative adjectives- Fill in the blanks
- 3.2.Exercise on irregular forms of the comparative of majority - Single choice set
- 3.3.Exercise on the superlative adjectives - Fill in the blanks
- 3.4.Exercise on irregular forms of the superlative - Fill in the blanks
- 3.5.Exercise on comparative and superlative adverbs - Drag text
- 3.6.Exercise on comparative and superlative adverbs - Single choice set
- 3.7.Exercise on comparative and superlative adverbs - Fill in the blanks
Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
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Comparative adjectives in Italian
A comparative adjective (aggettivo comparativo) expresses a comparison between two elements.
There are three different kinds of comparatives.
- Comparative of majority
- Comparative of minority
- Comparative of equality
Comparative of majority
The comparative of majority is formed according to the following structure:
più + adjective + di
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Mio fratello è più bravo di me. | My brother is better than me. |
| Mia nonna è più vecchia di me. | My grandma is older than me. |
Comparative of minority
The comparative of minority is formed according to the following structure:
meno + adjective + di
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Egli è meno ricco di Giovanni. | He is less rich than Giovanni. |
| Anna è meno divertente di te. | Anna is less fun than you. |
Comparative of equality
The comparative of equality is formed according to the following structure:
adjective + quanto / come
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Il mio amico è arrabbiato quanto te. | My friend is as mad as you are. |
| Anna é alta come Maria. | Anna is as tall as Maria. |
Irregular forms of the comparative of majority
Some adjectives create their comparative forms in two ways.
Together with the analytic form (più + adjective+ di), these adjectives have the synthetic forms.
Learn them by heart.
| Adjective | Comparative (analytic form) | Comparative (synthetic form) |
|---|---|---|
| buono (good) | più buono (better) | migliore (better) |
| cattivo (bad) | più cattivo (worse) | peggiore (worse) |
| grande (big) | più grande (bigger) | maggiore (bigger) |
| piccolo (small) | più piccolo (smaller) | minore (smaller) |
| alto (high) | più alto (higher) | superiore (higher) |
| basso (low) | più basso (lower) | inferiore (lower) |
The construction of the sentence remains the same as regular forms.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Andrea è migliore di Luca. | Andrea is better than Luca. |
| La tua squadra è peggiore della mia. | Your team is worse than mine. |
The analytic and the synthetic form coexist. You can learn the correct usage by practising the language only.
La torta di mia nonna è più buona della mia.
My grandma's cake is better than mine.
La nostra idea è migliore della loro.
Our idea is better than theirs.
Superlative adjectives in Italian
A superlative adjective expresses the fact that somebody has a certain quality to the maximum extent.
The superlative can be either relative or absolute.
Relative superlative
The relative superlative states that someone or something has a certain quality to the maximum extent within a certain group of people or things.
It can be formed according to one of the following structures:
1. Determinate article + Più / Meno + adjective + Di (+ determinate article) / Tra / Fra + Noun
2. Determinate article + Noun + Più / Meno + adjective + Di (+ determinate article)/ Tra / Fra + Noun
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Giorgia è la più bella della classe. | Giorgia is the most beautiful girl in the class. |
| Stefano è il meno alto tra i giocatori della squadra. | Stefano is the shorter (the less tall) among the players in the team. |
| La spiaggia più bella della Corsica è Capo Pertusato. | The most beautiful beach in Corsica is Capo Pertusato. |
| Roma è la città più grande d'Italia. | Rome is the largest city in Italy. |
Absolute superlative
The absolute superlative form is used to state that someone (or something) has a certain quality to the highest degree, without any term of comparison.
In general, it is formed by adding the suffix -ISSIMO to the adjective (after dropping its last vowel).
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Amo Torino, è una città bellissima. | I love Turin, it's a beautiful city. |
| Siamo troppi, c'è pochissimo spazio. | We are too many, there's very few room. |
Other ways to form the absolute superlative
The absolute superlative adjective can also be formed as follows:
- Using an adverb (molto, davvero, realmente…) before an adjective
una casa davvero grande
a very big house
- Repeating the same adjective twice (only in colloquial, informal language)
un libro noioso noioso
a very boring book
- Adding a prefix (super-, arci-, iper-, extra-…) before the adjective
un gioco superdivertente
a very funny game
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Questo film è molto interessante. | This film is very interesting. |
| Michel sta bene? É pallido pallido. | Is Michel ok? He is very pale. |
| Amo il cioccolato extrafondente. | I love extra dark chocolate. |
Irregular superlative form
As the comparatives, some superlative adjectives (both relative and absolute) create their superlative forms in two ways.
Together with the analytic forms (il più + adjective+ di / suffix -ISSIMO), these adjectives also have the synthetic form.
Learn them by heart.
| Adjective | Relative superlative (analytic form) | Relative superlative (synthetic form) | Absolute superlative (analytic form) | Absolute superlative (synthetic form) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| buono (good) | il più buono (the best) | il migliore (the best) | buonissimo (very good) | ottimo (very good) |
| cattivo (bad) | il più cattivo (the worst) | il peggiore (the worst) | cattivissimo (very bad) | pessimo (very bad) |
| grande (big) | il più grande (the biggest) | il maggiore (the biggest) | grandissimo (very big) | massimo (very big) |
| piccolo (small) | il più piccolo (the smallest) | il minore (the smallest) | piccolissimo (very small) | minimo (very small) |
| alto (high) | il più alto (the highest) | il superiore (the highest) | altissimo (very high) | supremo / sommo (very high) |
| basso (low) | il più basso (the lowest) | l'inferiore (the lowest) | bassissimo (very low) | infimo (very low) |
The analytic and the synthetic form coexist. You can learn the correct usage by practising the language only.
La torta di mia nonna è la più buona del mondo.
My grandma's cake is the best in the world.
La nostra idea è la migliore della classe.
Our idea is the best in the class.
Comparative and Superlative Adverbs
Comparative adverbs in Italian
A comparative adverb introduces a comparison between two elements.
There are three different kinds of comparatives.
- Comparative of majority
- Comparative of minority
- Comparative of equality
Comparative of majority
The comparative of majority is formed according to the following structure:
Più (more) + Adverb + Di
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Mio fratello corre più lentamente di me. | My brother runs faster than me. |
| Lui ha fame e mangia più velocemente degli altri. | He's hungry and he eats faster than the other students. |
Comparative of minority
The comparative of minority is formed according to the following structure:
Meno (less) + Adverb + Di
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Lui parla meno forte di Marco. | He speaks less loud than Marco. |
| Anna dorme meno profondamente di Chiara. | Anna sleeps less soundly than Chiara. |
Comparative of equality
The comparative of equality is formed according to the following structure:
(Tanto) + Adverb + quanto
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Il mio amico parla lentamente quanto te. | My friend speaks as slowly as you do. |
| Michele scrive tanto rapidamente quanto Marco. | Michele types as quickly as Marco. |
Superlative adverbs in Italian
A superlative adverb expresses a certain quality to the maximum extent.
The superlative can be either relative or absolute.
Relative superlative
The relative superlative states that someone or something has a certain quality to the maximum extent within a certain group of people or things.
It can be formed according to the following structure:
Determinate article + Più / Meno + adverb + Di (+ determinate article) / Tra / Fra
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Giorgio era quello che correva il più velocemente tra di noi. | Giorgio was the one who ran the fastest between us. |
| Martina leggeva il più attentamente possibile. | Martina was reading as carefully as possible. |
Absolute superlative
The absolute superlative form is used to state that someone (or something) has a certain quality to the highest degree, without any term of comparison.
Superlative adjective (feminine singular form) + mente
| Adjective | Superlative adverb | English |
|---|---|---|
| Forte → Fortissima → Fortissimamente | Lui parla fortissimamente. | He speaks so loudly. |
| Piano → Pianissima → Pianissimamente | Cammina pianissimamente! | Walk super slowly! |
Irregular forms
Comparative and superlative adverbs also have some irregular forms; they must be learned by heart.
| Adverb | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| Bene (Good) | Meglio (Better) | Ottimamente Benissimo (Amazingly) |
| Male (Bad) | Peggio (Worse) | Malissimo (Terribly) |
| Molto (A lot) | Più (More) | Moltissimo (The most) |
| Poco (A little) | Meno (Less) | Pochissimo Minimamente (The littlest) |
Exercises
- Exercise on the comparative adjectives- Fill in the blanks
- Exercise on irregular forms of the comparative of majority - Single choice set
- Exercise on the superlative adjectives - Fill in the blanks
- Exercise on irregular forms of the superlative - Fill in the blanks
- Exercise on comparative and superlative adverbs - Drag text
- Exercise on comparative and superlative adverbs - Single choice set
- Exercise on comparative and superlative adverbs - Fill in the blanks
Exercise on the comparative adjectives- Fill in the blanks
Exercise on irregular forms of the comparative of majority - Single choice set
Exercise on the superlative adjectives - Fill in the blanks
Exercise on irregular forms of the superlative - Fill in the blanks
Exercise on comparative and superlative adverbs - Drag text
Exercise on comparative and superlative adverbs - Single choice set
Exercise on comparative and superlative adverbs - Fill in the blanks
Exercises
- Exercise on the comparative adjectives- Fill in the blanks
- Exercise on irregular forms of the comparative of majority - Single choice set
- Exercise on the superlative adjectives - Fill in the blanks
- Exercise on irregular forms of the superlative - Fill in the blanks
- Exercise on comparative and superlative adverbs - Drag text
- Exercise on comparative and superlative adverbs - Single choice set
- Exercise on comparative and superlative adverbs - Fill in the blanks