Italian superlative – superlativo relativo e assoluto

If you’re going to Italy this summer, you might want to know how to say in Italian sentences like:

This pizza is very good
You’re very beautiful
You’re very elegant tonight

And knowing how to form and use the Italian superlative can really come in handy.
In Italian the superlative has two possible forms: superlativo relativo (superlative relative) and superlativo assoluto (absolute superlative).

Superlativo relativo

It indicates that an object or a person has the greatest or least degree of a quality compared to that of other objects or people.

Formation

1st Term of comparison + Verb + Article + Più’ (the most) + Adjective + Di/Tra + 2nd Term of comparison

or

1st Term of comparison + Verb + Article + Meno (the least) + Adjective + Di/Tra + 2nd Term of comparison

Examples:

Luca è il più forte della classe -> Luca is the strongest in the class;
Luca è il più forte tra i nostri amici -> Luca is the strongest among our friends;

Superlativo assoluto

It indicates that an object or a person has the greatest or least degree of a quality – without being compared with that of other objects or people.

Formation

Adjective’s base + Issimo/a/i/e

To get the adjective’s base just delete the last vowel of the adjective: elegante -> elegant
Then, to form superlative assoluto, add -issimo/a/i/e -> elegantissimo.

Example:

Maria era elegantissima stasera -> Maria was very elegant tonight;

Other ways to form superlativo assoluto

1- First way:

Molto/Incredibilmente/Estremamente/Decisamente + Adjective

Example:

Sei molto/incredibilmente/estremamente/decisamente intelligente -> You’re very intelligent;

2- Second way, used only in informal Italian:

Super/Ultra/Stra + Adjective (without any space)

Example:

Questo ristorante è super/ultra/stracaro! -> This restaurant is very expensive!

Irregular superlative forms

Finally, some adjectives have irregular superlative forms. In the table below I’ve listed the commonest ones.

Adjective	Relative superlative	Absolute superlative
Buono	il più buono – il migliore	buonissimo – ottimo
Cattivo	il più cattivo – il peggiore	cattivissimo – pessimo
Grande	il più grande – il maggiore	grandissimo – massimo
Piccolo	il più piccolo – il minore	piccolissimo – minimo
Alto	il più alto	altissimo – sommo/supremo
Basso	il più basso	bassissimo – infimo

If you need to master or revise basic Italian grammar, have a look at my book Sos Italian grammar A1-A2.

I hope this article helped you to understand how to form the Italian superlative.
Feel free to post your comments below.

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Credits

Original image by harisnurtanio