Regular superlatives
Superlatives express a characteristic to the greatest degree.
Anna è molto bella.
Anna is very beautiful.
Anna è bellissima.
Anna is extremely beautiful.
There are two types of superlative:
Absolute superlative: doesn't involve any form of comparison with another person or thing, and can be formed in two ways:
- By using molto (very) + adjective
Ciro è molto alto.
Ciro is very tall.
- By dropping the final vowel from the adjective and adding the suffix -issimo/-issima.
Ciro è altissimo : alto → altissimo.
Ciro is extremely tall.
Betty è ricchissima : ricco → ricchissima.
Betty is extremely rich.
Relative superlative: involves comparing one person or thing with another. This type of superlative takes the following structure:
- il/la/i/le (the) + (noun) + più/meno (most/least) + aggettivo (adjective) + di (of), to make an absolute comparison.
Ciro era il meno intelligente di tutti.
Ciro was the least intelligent of all.
Oggi è il giorno più felice della mia vita. (di+la → della)
Today is the happiest day (literally, “the day most happy”) of my life.
- uno/una (one) + dei/degli/delle (of the) + nome (noun) + più/meno (most/least) + aggettivo (adjective) to make a relative comparison.
La Galleria Borghese è uno dei musei più famosi di Roma. (di+i → dei)
The Galleria Borghese is one of the most famous museums in Roma.
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