4. Comparison
La comparazione
Comparative forms are used when a person, object, or activity is compared with another. In both English and Italian you can say that X possesses a quality more than, less than, or as much as Y. The appropriate structures and forms are:
Comparativo di maggioranza (to convey majority): più...di or più...che
Tu sei più alto di me - You are taller than me
Comparativo di minoranza (to convey minority): meno...di or meno...che
Lei è meno alta di te - She is less tall than you
You use di when comparing two different people or things:
Alex è meno gentile di Francesco - Alex is less kind than Francesco
You use che when the comparison is between two qualities of the same thing:
La mela più verde che rossa - The apple is more green than red
Comparativo di uguaglianza (to convey equality): (così)...come or (tanto)...quanto
Il vino italiano è (così) buono come il vino francese - Italian wine is as good as French wine
Alex è (tanto) bello quanto intelligente - Alex is as beautiful as intelligent
When used to compare nouns, (tanto)...quanto are adjectives and there is agreement:
Ho tante penne quanti libri - I have as many pens as books
Così and tanto are optional and usually avoided.
The superlative form
The relative superlative is formed by article+più/meno+adjective+di/tra/fra
La Sicilia è l’isola più bella d’Italia. Sicily is the most beautiful island in Italy.
Palomar è il meno interessante fra i romanzi di Calvino. Palomar is the less interesting among Calvino's novels.
The absolute superlative is formed by adding –issimo/a/i/e to the adjective, after removing the final letter.
Questo libro è bellissimo. This book is very nice.
Quella storia è interessantissima. This story is very interesting.
There are also other ways to form the absolute superlative:
- By repeating the adjective twice: Giovanna è magra magra. Giovanna is very thin.
- By using tutto/a/i/e: Maria è tutta contenta. Maria is so happy.
- By adding a prefix (arci-, iper-, stra-, super-) before the adjective: Luca è straricco! Luca is very very rich!
Irregular comparative and superlative forms
Some adjectives have both regular and irregular comparative and superlative forms. The regular forms follow the rules explained above; the irregular forms are as follows.
| c1 | c2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Aggettivo | Comparativo | Superlativo relativo | Superlativo assoluto |
| buono | migliore | il migliore | ottimo |
| cattivo | peggiore | il peggiore | pessimo |
| grande | maggiore | il maggiore | massimo |
| piccolo | minore | il minore | minimo |