Purpose
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to make comparisons of superiority, inferiority, and equality in Italian.
Lesson Explanation
Comparisons of superiority and inferiority use più…di/che (more…than) and meno…di/che (less…than):
Anna è più alta di Marco. — Anna is taller than Marco. Questo libro è meno interessante di quello. — This book is less interesting than that one.
A genuinely distinctive detail with no Spanish equivalent: Italian uses di when comparing two different nouns/people, but switches to che when comparing two qualities, quantities, or actions about the SAME subject: Marco è più intelligente che simpatico. (Marco is more intelligent than likeable — comparing two traits of the same person.)
Comparisons of equality use tanto…quanto or così…come with adjectives — both are correct and interchangeable, and tanto/così are often dropped entirely in casual speech:
Anna è (così) alta come Marco. — Anna is as tall as Marco. Ho tanti libri quanti te. — I have as many books as you (requires agreement with the noun, like Spanish "tantos").
Irregular comparatives, genuinely similar in logic to Spanish’s set: buono (good) → migliore (better), cattivo (bad) → peggiore (worse), grande → maggiore (greater/older), piccolo → minore (lesser/younger).
Superlatives add the definite article: il più alto (the tallest), reusing the article-agreement pattern from Part 1, Lesson 4.
Practice Questions
1. Write the Italian structure for “more…than.”
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Più…di (or che).
2. Write “Anna is taller than Marco.”
View Answer
Anna è più alta di Marco.
3. When is “di” used versus “che” in a comparison?
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“Di” compares two different nouns/people; “che” compares two qualities of the same subject.
4. Write “Marco is more intelligent than likeable,” comparing two traits of the same person.
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Marco è più intelligente che simpatico.
5. Write one of the two interchangeable structures for “as…as.”
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Tanto…quanto or così…come.
6. Are “tanto” and “così” ever dropped in casual speech?
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Yes, often.
7. Write the irregular comparative form of “buono” (good).
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Migliore.
8. Write the irregular comparative form of “cattivo” (bad).
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Peggiore.
9. Write the irregular comparative form of “grande,” meaning “greater/older.”
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Maggiore.
10. Write the irregular comparative form of “piccolo,” meaning “lesser/younger.”
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Minore.
11. How is a superlative like “the tallest” formed?
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With the definite article: il più alto.
12. Write “This book is less interesting than that one.”
View Answer
Questo libro è meno interessante di quello.