This post is all about adverbs! If you’re a little unsure about what adverbs are or how to use them in Italian, you might want to start with our post on Italian adverbs !
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What are comparative and superlative adverbs in Italian?
By: Claudia Quesito Fri Aug 30 2024
ItalianAdverbs
Most adverbsNo definition set for adverbsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. in Italian can be used in comparative and superlative expressions. While the comparative is used to make comparisons between two actions/descriptions, the superlative expresses the maximum or minimum level of a quality. There are a few subtypes of each, which are illustrated by the examples in the figure below. Can you guess what the differences between the types are?
Comparatives of Adverbs:
comparative of majoritycomparative of minoritycomparative of equality
Di solito corro più velocemente di Roberto ma meno velocemente di Adriano; ieri, però ho corso tanto velocemente quanto Adriano.
I normally run faster than Roberto but slower than Adriano; yesterday, however, I ran as fast as Adriano.
Superlatives of Adverbs:
relative superlativeabsolute superlative
Corro il più velocemente di tutti! Corro velocissimo / velocissimamente!
I run the fastest (faster than everyone else)! I run very fast!
In this post, we’ll teach you how to form and when to use all the types of comparatives and superlatives with adverbs in Italian. As we’ll see, not all these forms are equally common, and there are some twists.
Table of Contents
Before you begin!
How to use adverbs in the comparative and superlative?
Just like adjectives, most adverbs can be used to make comparisons and can express different levels of a quality. Let’s see what types of elements we can compare using adverbs.
Comparative adverbs compare some quality of either:
How two different actors perform the same action or fit the same description:
Consuelo parla più velocemente di Caterina.
Consuelo speaks faster than Caterina.
How one actor performs two different actions or is described by two different terms:
A volte Consuelo parla più velocemente di quanto pensi.
At times Consuelo speaks faster than she thinks.
The superlative, on the other hand, expresses that an action or description has the maximum or minimum amount a quality, either in relation to a group (a “relative” superlative) or just in general (an “absolute” superlative):
- relative superlative
Anna parla spagnolo il più fluentemente di tutti!
Anna speaks Spanish the most fluently of all.
- absolute superlative
È vero: parla spagnolo fluentissimamente!
It’s true: she speaks Spanish very fluently!
How to form comparatives of majority, minority, and equality using adverbs?
There are three types of comparatives: majority, minority, and equality. To form them, using adverbs, use the following structures:
comparativo di maggioranza(comparative of majority) (+):
più
more
adverb
di
than
Leone cucina più spesso di Francesca.
Leone cooks more often than Francesca.
comparativo di minoranza(comparative of minority) (-):
meno
less
adverb
di
than
Gianni esce meno frequentemente dei suoi amici.
Gianni goes out less frequently than his friends.
Important
As you probably have noticed, the second term of the comparison is normally introduced by di, alone or combined with a definite article. When comparing two actions carried out by the same subject, che can also be used.
Maria guida più velocemente che prudentemente.
Maria drives more fast than carefully.
You may want to check this super complete article on Italian comparatives and superlatives to know when to use which.
comparativo di uguaglianza(comparative of equality) (=):
There are two options here!(tanto)
adverb
quanto
Sonia studia (tanto) regolarmente quanto Simone.
Sonia studies as regularly as Simone (does).
(così)
adverb
come
Sonia studia (così) regolarmente come Simone.
Sonia studies as regularly as Simone (does).
Important
In the rules above, tanto and così are in parentheses because they are optional, or even more than optional: they are hardly used!
Irregular comparatives
And now, the part we all were expecting: the irregular comparatives! Because of course there are adverbs with irregular comparative forms. Just a few, luckily, but they are very common:
Adverb | Irregular comparative adverb | Example |
|---|---|---|
bene well | meglio better | Lara suona bene il violino, ma sua sorella lo suona persino meglio di lei. Lara plays the violin well, but her sister plays it even better than her. |
male badly | peggio worse | Mio marito cucina male, e io pure peggio di lui! My husband cooks badly, and I cook even worse than him! |
molto much, a lot | più more | Laura legge molto, non so chi legge più di lei! Laura reads a lot, I don’t know who reads more than her! |
poco little | meno less | Oggi ho mangiato poco, e ieri anche meno di oggi. Today I ate little, and yesterday even less than today. |
How to form superlatives with adverbs?
There are two types of superlatives with adverbs: relative and absolute. Let’s see how they are formed.
superlativo relativo(relative superlative):
il più(the most) / il meno(the least)
adverb
Ho letto le istruzioni il più rapidamente di tutti.
Leone cooks more often than Francesca.
If the second term of comparison is expressed (as in our example, di tutti) the article il is often omitted: Ho letto le istruzioni più rapidamente di tutti.
Important
The relative superlative with adverbs is, in general, pretty uncommon in contemporary Italian except in a few cases, like the expression il più… possibile:
Ho letto le istruzioni il più rapidamente possibile.
I read the instructions as fast as possible.
superlativo assoluto(absolute superlative):
molto
very
adverb
Cammini molto lentamente!
You walk very slowly!
Tip
Instead of molto, you could use assai (which means “very” and is more commonly used in Southern Italy), davvero(really), tanto(very), proprio(really, properly), or veramente(truly).
Or, add the suffixesNo definition set for suffixesLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. -issimo or -issamente to the stemNo definition set for stemLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. of the adverb.
Cammini lentissimamente / lentissimo!
You walk very slowly!
Irregular superlatives
Time for the irregular forms, only concerning absolute superlatives:
Adverb | Irregular absolute superlative | Example |
|---|---|---|
bene well | ottimamente very well | Lara suona il violino benissimo / ottimamente. Lara plays the violin very well. |
male badly | pessimamente very badly | Mio marito cucina malissimo / pessimamente! My husband cooks very badly! |
The good news is: there’s just two of them — at least among the ones you would certainly use — and they also have a regular form (benissimo and malissimo), which is the most used in informal Italian.
Important
While most adverbs can be used in comparative and superlative expressions, adverbs ending in -oni, like bocconi(face-down) do not have comparative and superlative forms.
Comparatives and superlatives of adverb clauses
Some adverbial phrasesNo definition set for adverbial phrasesLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. have a comparative and superlative form, like in fretta(in a hurry), a modo(properly), (essere) a posto(in place, settled, to be OK). Let's see them in context:
Ho preparato la tavola in frettissima ma è comunque tutto più a modo di prima.
I set the table in a super hurry but everything is set more properly than before, anyway.
Vuoi qualcos’altro? Sei a posto?
Would you like anything else? Are you OK?
(Sono) a postissimo, grazie!
I’m great, thank you!
Summary
Most adverbs can have comparative and superlative forms. Comparatives are used to make comparisons, while superlatives are used to express the minimum/maximum level of a quality. Let’s review the forms:
To make comparisons of majority/minority (+/-), add più or meno before the adverb and use di (or in some cases, che) to introduce the second term of comparison.
To make comparisons of equality (=), place tanto or così before the adverb — optional — and quanto or come after it.
To express a relative superlative, place il più / il meno before the adverb.
To express an absolute superlative, place molto — or one of its variations like proprio, davvero, veramente... — before the adverb, or add -issimo / -issamente to the adverb root.
Ready to practice? Check out our activities on comparative and superlative adverbs in Italian!
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