Comparing people or things - ADJECTIVES - Easy Learning Italian Grammar

Easy Learning Italian Grammar (2011)

ADJECTIVES

6. Comparing people or things

1 Comparative adjectives

What is a comparative adjective?

In English, a comparative adjective is one with –er on the end, or more or less in front of it, for example, faster, more important, less interesting. These adjectives are used when you are comparing people or things.

2 How to make a comparative adjective in Italian

To say that something is faster, bigger, more important and so on use più in front of the adjective.

una macchina più grande	a bigger car
un film più interessante	a more interesting film
Queste scarpe sono più comode.	These shoes are more comfortable.

To say that something is less expensive, less interesting and so on use meno in front of the adjective.

un computer meno caro	a less expensive computer
un viaggio meno faticoso	a less tiring journey

3 How to compare one person or thing with another

Put either più or meno in front of the adjective and use di to translate than.

Sono più alto di te.	I’m taller than you.
Milano è più grande di Genova.	Milan is bigger than Genoa.
Carlo è più ambizioso di Luca.	Carlo is more ambitious than Luca.
Il verde è meno caro del nero.	The green one is less expensive than the black one.
La mia borsa è meno pesante della tua.	My bag is less heavy than yours.

Note that di combines with the article to make one word: di + il = del, di + la = della, and so on.

For more information on di, see Prepositions page 174.

4 Superlative adjectives

What is a superlative adjective?

In English, a superlative adjective is one with –est on the end, or most or least in front of it, for example, fastest, most important, least interesting. The definite article is used with superlative adjectives: the fastest, the most important, the least interesting.

5 How to make a superlative adjective in Italian

Making a superlative adjective is very easy: you simply put a definite article in front of the comparative adjective.

il più alto	the tallest
il meno interessante	the least interesting

The definite article must agree with the person or thing you’re describing.

Matteo è il più alto.	Matteo is the tallest.
Lidia è la più alta.	Lidia is the tallest.
Queste scarpe sono le più comode.	These shoes are the most comfortable.
Gianni è il meno ambizioso.	Gianni is the least ambitious.

If there is a definite article in front of the noun, do not put a second definite article in front of più or meno.

il ragazzo più alto	the tallest boy
la banca più vicina	the nearest bank
lo studente più intelligente	the most intelligent student
i voli più economici	the cheapest flights
i suoi film meno interessanti	his least interesting films

For more information on the Definite article, see page 11.

Tip

In phrases like the most famous in the world, and the biggest in Italy, use di to translate in.

lo stadio più grande d’Italia	the biggest stadium in Italy
il ristorante più caro della città	the most expensive restaurant in the town

6 Irregular comparatives and superlatives

In English, the comparatives of good and bad are irregular: better, best, worse and worst. In Italian, there are regular forms of buono and cattivo.

Questo è più buono.	This one’s better.
I rossi sono i più buoni.	The red ones are the best.
Quello è ancora più cattivo.	That one’s even worse.

There are also irregular forms of buono and cattivo, as there are of grande, piccolo, alto and basso:

Adjective	Meaning	Comparative	Meaning	Superlative	Meaning
buono	good	migliore	better	il migliore	the best
cattivo	bad	peggiore	worse	il peggiore	the worst
grande	big	maggiore	bigger/older	il maggiore	the biggest/oldest
piccolo	small	minore	smaller/younger	il minore	the smallest/youngest
alto	high	superiore	higher	il superiore	the highest
basso	low	inferiore	lower	l’inferiore	the lowest

Note that these irregular comparatives and superlatives are adjectives

ending in –e, so their plural ending is –i.
il modo migliore	the best way
il mio fratello minore	my younger brother
le mie sorelle maggiori	my older sisters
il labbro inferiore	the lower lip
Il libro è migliore del film.	The book is better than the film.
Giorgia è la peggiore della classe.	Giorgia is the worst in the class.

7 as … as …

Sometimes you want to say that people or things are similar or the same:

I’m as tall as you.

In Italian you use come or quanto to make this kind of comparison.

Pietro è alto come Michele.	Pietro is as tall as Michele.
La mia macchina è grande come la tua.	My car is as big as yours.
Sono stanca quanto te.	I’m just as tired as you are.

you can make these sentences negative by adding non.

Pietro non è alto come Michele.	Pietro is not as tall as Michele.
Non sono stanca quanto te.	I’m not as tired as you are.

Grammar Extra!

In English, you emphasize adjectives by adding words like very, really or terribly. You do the same in Italian, using molto, veramente and terribilmente.

Lui è molto ricco.	He’s very rich.
I fiori sono veramente belli.	The flowers are really lovely.
Sono terribilmente stanca.	I’m terribly tired.

Another way of adding emphasis to Italian adjectives is to replace the –o or –e ending with –issimo.

bello	beautiful
bellissimo	very beautiful
elegante	smart
elegantissimo	very smart

Note that these -issimo adjectives change their endings for the feminine and the plural.

Il tempo era bellissimo.	The weather was really beautiful.
Anna è sempre elegantissima.	Anna is always terribly smart.
Sono educatissimi.	They’re extremely polite.

Key points

you make comparative adjectives in Italian by using più and meno, and translate than by di.

you add the definite article to the comparative adjective to make a superlative adjective.