Irregular comparisons and superlatives

In addition to the regular comparative forms we already looked at (using più and meno) there are also some irregular comparatives and superlatives for Italian adjectives and adverbs.

Irregular adjective comparisons

With most English comparatives, we just add -er and -est to the adjective (eg: light, lighter, and lightest), but that doesn’t work with good, which becomes better and best.

In the very same way, most adjective comparisons in Italian can be handled with più, but the usual suspects which seem to pop up in every language pop up in Italian, too: high, low, good, bad, large, small.

high	higher	highest	very high
alto	superiore	il superiore	supremo
low	lower	lowest	very low
basso	inferiore	l’inferiore	infimo
good	better	best	very good
buono	migliore	il migliore	ottimo
bad	worse	worst	very bad
cattivo	peggiore	il peggiore	pessimo
big	older	oldest	very big
grande	maggiore	il maggiore	massimo
small	younger	youngest	very small
piccolo	minore	il minore	minimo

Examples:

• La nostra azienda valorizza l’instruzione superiore.
• Questa era la cosa peggiore che potevi dire.
• Mio fratello minore lavora in questa trattoria.

Irregular adverb comparisons

Similarly, there are irregular comparative forms for adverbs, and once again, it’s the usual suspects: well, badly, much, little.

well	better	best	very well
bene	meglio	il meglio	ottimamente
badly	worse	worst	very badly
male	peggio	il peggio	pessimamente
much	more	most	very much
molto	più	il più	moltissimo
little	less	least	very little
poco	meno	il meno	pochissimo

Examples:

• A causa dei suoi studi, lui capisce italiano ottimamente.
• L’altro gruppo gioca il calcio peggio che noi.

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