Italian grammar

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  • The comparison degrees
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Comparatives and superlatives

The adjective, in addition to defining a quality of a person or thing, can also specify the degree to which this quality is possessed by the person or thing.

Adjectives, in Italian, have three different degrees of comparison:

 Positive
 Comparative
 Superlative

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1. The positive degree

The positive degree expresses a simple quality, without making any comparison.

Example: Un albero alto (a tall tree), un libro vecchio (an old book), etc...

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2. The comparative degree

Comparative is the form of an adjective (or an adverb) when expresses a quality by comparing two nouns (but also two verbs or two adjectives).

In Italian, there are three types of comparatives (comparativi): "comparativo di maggioranza", "comparativo di minoranza" and "comparativo di uguaglianza":

1. "Comparativo di maggioranza"
   We can talk about "comparativo di maggioranza" when the first term of comparison possesses the quality (expressed by the adjective) greater in extent than the second one.
   It is formed by:
   
       "più" (more) + adjective + "di" (than)
   
   If the comparison is beteween two verbs or two adjectives, we'll use "che" instead of "di".
   
   Examples:
   Luca è più alto di Paolo (Luca is taller than Paolo)
   Un cane è più grande di un topo (a dog is bigger than a mouse)
   Michele è più pigro che volenteroso (Michele is lazier than willing)
   Giocare è più divertente che studiare (playing is more enjoyable than studying)
2. "Comparativo di minoranza"
   We have a "comparativo di minoranza" when the first term of comparison possesses the quality (expressed by the adjective) less in extent than the second one.
   It is formed by:
   
       "meno" (less) + adjective + "di" (than) after it.
   
   If the comparison is beteween two verbs or two adjectives, we'll use "che" instead of "di".
   
   Examples:
   Luca è meno alto di Paolo (Luca is less tall than Paolo)
   Michele è meno pigro che volenteroso (Michele is less lazy than willing)
   Giocare è meno divertente che studiare (playing is less enjoyable than studying)
NOTE: If the second term of comparison requires the definite article, the preposition "di" and the article combine to produce a compound form (see "preposizioni articolate"):

Examples:
Non sempre i cani sono meno intelligenti degli umani (it is not always true that dogs are less intelligent than umans)
Gli aerei sono più veloci dei treni (planes are faster than trains)

3. "Comparativo di uguaglianza"
   When the first term of a comparison possesses the quality (expressed by the adjective) to the same extent as the second one, we are talking about a "comparativo di uguaglianza".
   It can be formed by:
   
       "tanto" (as) + adjective + "quanto" (as)
   or by:
       "così" (as) + adjective + "come" (as).
   
   The words "tanto" and "così" are mostly omitted.
   
   Esempi:

   Luca è (tanto) alto quanto Paolo	(Luca is as tall as Paolo)
   Luca è (così) alto come Paolo
   Quel cane è (tanto) grande quanto un topo	(That dog is as big as a mouse)
   Quel cane è (così) grande come un topo
   Michele è (tanto) pigro quanto volenteroso	(Michele is as lazy as willing)
   Michele è (così) pigro come volenteroso
   Studiare non è (tanto) divertente quanto giocare	(studying is not as enjoyable as playing)
   Studiare non è (così) divertente come giocare

3. The superlative degree

The superlative degree of an adjective indicates that the quality (expressed by the adjective) is possessed by someone or something in the highest degree.

There are two types of superlatives, in Italian: "Superlativo relativo" (superlative) and "superlativo assoluto" (absolute superlative):

1. "Superlativo relativo" (superlative)
   We can talk about "superlativo relativo" when the form of the adjective indicates that the quality is possessed in the highest ("superlativo relativo di maggioranza") or lowest ("superlativo relativo di minoranza") degree, inside a group of people or things.
   
   The "superlativo relativo di maggioranza" is formed by:
   
       definite article + "più" + adjective + "di + article" + noun
   
   Example:
   Mario è il più alto della scuola (Mario is the tallest of the school)
   Loro sono i più bravi dell'equipaggio (they are the best of the crew)
   
   The "superlativo relativo di minoranza" is formed by:
   
       definite article + "meno" + adjective "di + article" + noun
   
   Example:
   Giovanni è il meno alto della scuola (Giovanni is the less tall of the school)
   Questi esami sono i meno facili del corso (these exams are the less easy of the course)
   
   Remember that the definite article, as well as the adjective, agrees in gender and number with the noun it refers to.
   
   Example:
   Anna è la più bella della città (Anna is the most beautiful in the city)
   Loro sono i più veloci della squadra (They are the fastest in the team)
2. "Superlativo assoluto" (absolute superlative)
   We can talk about "superlativo assoluto " when the form of the adjective indicates that the quality is possessed in the highest degree, without indicating any comparison with other people or things.
   
   The "superlativo assoluto " is formed, in general, by changing the ending of the adjective with "-issim(-o, -a, -i,-e)"
   
   Example:
   Mario è altissimo (Mario is really tall)
   Anna è bellissima (Anna is very beautiful)
   Piero e Giuseppe sono intelligentissimi (Piero and Giuseppe are very intelligent)

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   There are a few adjectives, rare and mostly used in figurative expressions, that form the "superlativo assoluto" by changing the ending two letters in "-errim(-o, -a, -i,-e)":
   
   Acre (acrid) --> acerrimo
   Aspro (sour) --> asperrimo
   Celebre (famous) --> celeberrimo
   Integro (undamaged) --> integerrimo
   Misero (poor) --> miserrimo
   Salubre (healty) --> saluberrimo
   
   Example:
   Un acerrimo nemico (an arch-enemy)
   Un artista celeberrimo (an extremely famous artist)

Notes

Please, note that there are some very common Italian adjectives that have an irregular form, in addition to the regular one:

Positive		Comparative	Superlative	Absolute superlative
Buono (good)	Regular	più buono	il più buono	buonissimo
	Irreg.	migliore	il migliore	ottimo
Cattivo (bad)	Regular	più cattivo	il più cattivo	cattivissimo
	Irreg.	peggiore	il peggiore	pessimo
Grande (big)	Regular	più grande	il più grande	grandissimo
	Irreg.	maggiore	il maggiore	massimo
Piccolo (small)	Regular	più piccolo	il più piccolo	piccolissimo
	Irreg.	minore	il minore	minimo
Alto (tall)	Regular	più alto	il più alto	altissimo
	Irreg.	superiore	il superiore	supremo / sommo
Basso (short)	Regular	più basso	il più basso	bassissimo
	Irreg.	inferiore	l'inferiore	infimo

Both forms are equivalent, but the irregular ones are mainly used in figurative expressions.

Examples:
Compiere il massimo sforzo (make the maximum effort)
Un rimedio peggiore del male (a remedy worse than the disease)

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Posted by Arnaldo Colonna on Jaunary 29, 2010 - All rights reserved

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