Comparative and superlative forms of adjectives An adjective used in its regular form is called positive. When an adjective is used to state the idea that someone or something has a relatively equal, greater, or lesser degree of a quality, it is called comparative or superlative. ‘The comparative is used to express a comparison between two people, animals, or things, in relation to a quality that they both have. The comparative can be of majority, minority, or equality. ‘The comparative of majority is used when the first term of. comparison is greater than the second term of comparison. In this case, the adjective is introduced by pita (more) and the second term is introduced by di or che. subject + verb + comparative + adjective + di + second term of majority of comparison Loro sono pit affamati di noi. ‘They are hungrier than we are. Luca é pit calmo di Marco. Luca is calmer than Marco. Giovanni é pid studioso di Marco. Giovanni is more studious than Marco. Noi abbiamo pitt fame di te. We are hungrier than you. Lei parla pitt velocemente di suo fratello. She speaks faster than her brother. In the comparative of majority the second term of comparison is introduced by che when two nouns, or two noun phrases, are compared by one adjective, noun, or adverb. subject + verb + comparative + adjective + che + second term of majority of comparison Maria é pitt affamata che stanca. Maria is more hungry than tired. Siamo pitt assonnati che affamati. We are more tired than hungry. ‘The second term of comparison is introduced by che in the comparative of majority when: * The second term of comparison is a noun or a Pronoun preceded by a compound preposition Sei pitt interessato allo sport che allo You are more interested in sports than in studio. studying. ‘* Comparing two qualities with the same subject E un’occasione pit unica che rara. It is an occasion more unique than rare. * Comparing two verbs E pitt bello dare che ricevere. It is better to give than to receive.‘The comparative of minority is used when the first term of the comparison is of a lesser degree than the second term. In this case, the adjective is introduced by meno (less) and the sec- ond term is introduced by di or che, and it follows the same rules as the comparative of majority. Luca ¢ meno alto di Marco. Luca is less tall than Marco. (shorter) Giulia ¢ meno studiosa che intelligente. Giulia is less studious than intelligent. ‘The comparative of equality is used when the quality expressed by the adjective is equally present in the two terms of comparison. Luca é tanto alto quanto Marco. Luca is as tall as Marco. Lisa é (cosi) simpatica come te. Lisa is as nice as you. When the quality of the adjective is compared to a group of people or things, the relative superlative construction is used. It is formed by placing the definite article in front of pit or meno. subject + verb + definite + pit/meno + adjective + second term article of comparison Il Sahara é il pit: grande dei deserti. The Sahara Desert is the largest of all deserts. ‘Anna é Ia pitt brava della classe. Anna is the best of the class. Carla é la meno brava della classe. Carla is the worst of the class. La Sicilia é la pit vasta delle isole italiane. Sicily is the biggest of the Italian islands. When the quality of the adjective is expressed in an absolute way, with no comparison, the absolute superlative is used. It is formed by adding the suffix -issimo to the root of the adjective: bello (beautiful) — bellissimo/a/ile (very beautiful); urgente (urgent) — urgentissimo/a/i/e (very urgent). subject + verb + absolute superlative Ipini in California sono altissimi. Pine trees in California are very tall. La Sicilia é vastissima, Sicily is very vast. I lavoro é urgentissimo. ‘The job is very urgent. Other ways to form the absolute superlative of an adjective is by placing the adverb of quality or quantity before the adjective, for example, molto (very), davvero (really), or assai (very). Mia mamma é molto stanca. My mother is very tired. Sometimes the absolute superlative is obtained with prefixes such as: arci- _arcicontento (very happy) iper- _iperattivo (hyperactive), ipercritico (overly critical), ipersensibile (overly sensitive) stra- _stragrande (very big), stracarico (very loaded), strapieno (very full) super- superaffollato (overcrowded), superconveniente (very convenient) Besides the regular formation of comparatives and superlatives, four adjectives have another form that comes directly from Lati: POSITIVE COMPARATIVE OF MAJORITY _ ABSOLUTE SUPERLATIVE RELATIVE SUPERLATIVE buono (good) _ pitt buono/migliore buonissimo/ottimo il migliore di cattivo (bad) _ pits cattivo/peggiore cattivissimo/pessimo _il peggiore di. grande (big) __pitigrande/maggiore _—_grandissimo/massimo _il maggiore di... piccolo (small) pitt piccolo/minore piccolissimo/minimo __il minore di...‘The forms migliore, ottimo, peggiore, and pessimo are used when: * Referring to something abstract Devi esercitare un maggior You must have more self-control. autocontrollo. (not ... un pitt grande autocontrollo) * Using technical and scientific language Consideriamo il lato minore del Let's take a look at the shorter side of the triangolo. triangle, Migliore, peggiore, maggiore, and minore are used with adjectives that describe the ability or the strength of a person. Ho scelto il migliore avvocato della cittd. I chose the best lawyer in the city Raffaello é fra i migliori artisti italiani. Raffaello is one of the best Italian artists, Six adjectives form the superlative with the suffix -errimo rather than the suffix -issimo: acre (sour) acerrimo integro (intact) integerrimo aspro (sour) asperrimo misero (miserable) miserrimo celebre (famous) celeberrimo salubre (healthy) saluberrimo Six other adjectives form the superlative with the suffix -ente, which, when put next to -issimo, becomes -entissimo: benefico (beneficial) _beneficentissimo malefico (evil) maleficentissimo benevolo (benevolent) benevolentissimo __malevolo (malevolent) malevolentissimo maledico (cursed) maledicentissimo _ munifico (munificent) munificentissimo However, the superlatives ending in -errimo and -entissimo are not commonly used in spoken Italian. Generally, rather than using the superlative, an adverb precedes the adjective in a sentence. Le Marche sono una regione molto salubre. Marche is a very healthy region. La vitamina C é una vitamina molto Vitamin C is a very beneficial vitamin. benefica. [Esencizi0] i) Complete the following sentences in the comparative and the superlative, using the suggestions given in parentheses, 1. Matteo & Mario. (taller) 2. Matteo & - (very tall) 3)-luca legge se eee Giovanna. (less than) 4. Lucia legge . (very little) 5. La minestra & salata carne. (more... than)