Comparative degree of adjectives in Italian. I gradi di comparazione. Degrees of comparison of adjectives in Italian. Superlative adjectives

Adjective

Degrees of comparison of qualitative adjectives

Comparative degree of adjectives

The comparative degree of adjectives is formed by combining an adjective with adverbs più(more), meno(less), cos?… come, tanto…quanto(such as)

Maria è più intelligente che la sua amica (=della sua amica)- Maria is smarter than her friend.

Questo libro è meno interessante di (=che) quello.- This book is less interesting than that one.

La mia stanza è così comoda come la tua (=tanto comoda quanto la tua)- My room is as comfortable as yours.

Remember:

Molto più…- Much more...
Molto meno...- Much less...
L"inverno russo è molto più freddo che l"inverno italiano.- Russian winter is much colder than Italian.

Before the second comparison term can be used di And che; used before personal pronouns and numerals only di:

Lavori più di me- You work harder than me.

Superlative adjectives

The superlative degree of adjectives can be relative or absolute.

Relative The superlative degree is formed by placing the definite article before the comparative degree of the adjective:

Più forte- Stronger
Meno cari- Less expensive

Il più forte- Strongest
I meno cari- Least expensive

In this case, the noun can appear either after the adjective or immediately after the article:

Russia è il più grande paese del mondo (=Russia è il paese più grande del mondo).- Russia is the biggest country in the world.

"Repubblica" è il quotidiano più diffuso d"Italia.- "Republic" is the most widespread newspaper in Italy.

Absolute The superlative degree is formed:

1. by adding a suffix -issimo;
2. by adding adverbs to an adjective molto, assai(Very);
3. by repeating the adjective

The relative superlative is used when there is a comparison. (In the examples given: Russia is the largest country in the world compared to other countries; Repubblica is the most widely circulated newspaper in Italy compared to other Italian newspapers.)

Sometimes such a comparison may lie in the very meaning of the sentence:

Il più capace è Paolo.- The most capable (of all) is Paolo.

When using the absolute superlative degree of an adjective, there is no such comparison:

Paolo è capacissimo.- Paolo is very capable.

Some adjectives, along with the indicated comparative and superlative forms, have other, very common forms, formed from Latin stems:

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comparative

piu’……di/che more…than

meno….di/che less….than

cosi….come the same….as

tanto…quanto the same….ka

Where should I put it? di, and where should I put it? che??!!

Di used when comparing the same quality of two persons or objects. Behind di follows a noun or pronoun and is not always translated literally into Russian.

Che used when comparing two qualities of one person or thing. After che usually followed by a verb, adverb, adjective or preposition. Also che used when two nouns are compared to each other in quantity.

Russian comparative phrase “as well as”, “as much as” in Italian correspond to (tanto)...quanto or (cosi)...come. In this case, the comparative particles tanto and cosi can be omitted.

Superlative

There are two superlative forms in Italian: relative and absolute. The relative is formed using the definite article and piu"….di:

il palazzo piu' moderno di Parigi is the most modern building in Paris.

E' il piu’ interessante di tutti - he is the most interesting of all.

The absolute superlative is formed using the ending -issimo.

On the topic of adverbs, let's look at degrees of comparison of adverbs in Italian. Adverbs in Italian (like adjectives) form degrees of comparison. There are 3 degrees of comparison of adverbs in Italian (not counting the original form): comparative, relative superlative and absolute superlative comparison. For example, let’s take the adverb tardi – late:

più tardi - later (comparative adverb)

il più tardi possibile – as late as possible (relative superlative adverb)

molto tardi, tardissimo - very late (absolute superlative adverb comparison)

Degrees of comparison of adverbs with suffixes –mente (facilmente – easy) are formed in a similar way:

più facilmente – easier (comparative adverb)

il più facilmente possibile - as easily as possible (relative superlative adverb)

molto facilmente, facilissimamente – very easily (absolute superlative adverb comparison)

There are some adverbs in Italian that have their own degrees of comparison. Such adverbs include bene, male, molto, poco:

bene – good (initial form of adverb)

meglio – better (comparative adverb)

il meglio possibile – as best as possible (relative superlative adverb)

benissimo – excellent (absolute superlative adverb comparison)

male – bad (initial form of adverb)

peggio – worse (comparative adverb)

il peggio possibile – as bad as possible (relative superlative adverb)

malissimo – very bad, terribly bad (absolute superlative adverb)

molto – a lot (initial form of adverb)

più – more (comparative adverb)

il più possibile – as much as possible (relative superlative adverb)

moltissimo – very much, most of all (absolute superlative adverb)

poco – little (initial form of adverb)

meno – less (comparative adverb)

il meno possibile – as little as possible (relative superlative adverb)

pochissimo – least of all (absolute superlative adverb)

In addition to these degrees of comparison of adverbs in Italian, there are also synonyms that express one degree or another, for example:

bene - good, benine - pretty good, benone - excellent

male – bad; maluccio - not good

poco – little; pochino – a little bit, a little bit

presto – quickly, early; prestino – quickly, a little early

adagio – quietly, slowly; adagino - slowly

piano – quiet; pianono - quietly

This concludes the degrees of comparison of adverbs in the Italian language and in the next article we will consider another topic for beginners in learning Italian - the place of adverbs in an Italian sentence.

In this article we will look at degree of comparison of adjectives in Italian, as well as the position of adjectives in Italian in relation to nouns.

Adjectives in Italian form their comparative form using adverbs più and adjectives with di, che or meno: essere più utile che piacevole - to be more useful than pleasant

in meno tempo - in a shorter time

It should be noted that the words di, che, come, quanto correspond to the Russian “what” and “how”. The preposition di is used when comparing two nouns or pronouns:

è più bella di te – she is more beautiful than you

When comparing two adjectives, two prepositional phrases, two adverbs or two verbs, use che:

meglio tardi che mai - better late than never

When comparing identical qualities (same as) in Italian they use (cosi)…. come, (tanto)…. quanto, cosi or tanto:

sei alto come lui - you are the same height as him

Kiev è (così) grande come Roma - Kyiv is as big as Rome

Superlative comparison of adjectives in Italian

Position of adjectives in relation to nouns in Italian

Adjectives in Italian can appear either before or after the noun they refer to. Adjectives that always come after nouns include:

Adjectives that indicate shape or color:

vino rosso – red wine

Adjectives that indicate political, national or religious affiliation:

lingua italiana – Italian language

Participles that act as definitions:

condizioni convenienti - suitable conditions

Polysyllabic adjectives:

un caso eccezionale - an extraordinary incident

Adjectives that have dependent words:

un libro molto interessante - a very interesting book

Note:

Some adjectives change their meaning depending on their position. If an adjective follows a noun, it retains its meaning; if it comes before a noun, it acquires a figurative meaning:

costar caro - cost a lot

a caro prezzo - expensive

indizio certo - a sure sign

un certo fascino – some charm

grande distanza - great distance

un quadro grande – big picture

povera cena - meager dinner

un uomo povero – poor man

una persone sola – a lonely person

una sola persona - the only person

un amico vecchio – old (elderly) friend

un vecchio amico – old (old) friend