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Learn the Italian relative superlative formed with "il più" and "il meno" plus adjectives. This lesson covers forming masculine and feminine, singular and plural superlatives to compare qualities within a group, with practical examples like "Marco è il più timido del gruppo." Understand how agreement and usage differ from English to enhance your Italian language skills at level A1.
  1. We use the relative superlative to compare a person with a group.
Grado (Degree)Masculino (Masculine)Femenino (Feminine)
Superlativo di maggioranza (Superlative of majority)Singolare: Il più Il più generoso (The most generous)Singolare: La più La più generosa (The most generous)
Plurale: I più I più generosi (The most generous)Plurale: Le più Le più generose (The most generous)
Superlativo di minoranza (Superlative of minority)Singolare: Il meno Il meno timido (The least shy)Singolare: La meno La meno timida (The least shy)
Plurale: I menoI meno timidi (The least shy)Plurale: Le meno Le meno timide (The least shy (feminine plural))

Exercise 1: Il superlativo relativo: il più, il meno, i più, ...

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Show translation Show answers

il più intelligente, il più pigro, la più bugiarda, la più generosa, il più goffo, la più timida, la meno stressata, il meno socievole

1.
Luca sembra ... di tutti.
(Luca seems the most awkward of all.)
2.
Era ... di tutte.
(She was the most liar of all.)
3.
Pietro è ... della famiglia.
(Pietro is the least sociable member of the family.)
4.
Giulia è ... della classe.
(Giulia is the shyest in the class.)
5.
Lucia sembra ... del gruppo.
(Lucia seems to be the most generous in the group.)
6.
Chiara è ... in ufficio.
(Chiara is the least stressed in the office.)
7.
Mio fratello è ... che conosco.
(My brother is the laziest person I know.)
8.
Sei ... tra gli studenti.
(You are the smartest among the students.)

Exercise 2: Multiple Choice

Instruction: Choose the correct solution

1. Marco è ___ del gruppo.

(Marco is ___ in the group.)

2. Maria è ___ della squadra.

(Maria is ___ in the team.)

3. I ragazzi ___ sono Luca e Paolo.

(The boys ___ are Luca and Paolo.)

4. Francesca è ___ della classe.

(Francesca is ___ in the class.)

5. Gli studenti ___ arrivano sempre in ritardo.

(The students ___ always arrive late.)

6. Anna e Giulia sono ___ della festa.

(Anna and Giulia are ___ at the party.)

The Relative Superlative in Italian: "Il più", "Il meno", "I più" and More

This lesson introduces the concept of the relative superlative in Italian, an important grammatical structure used to express the highest or lowest degree of a quality within a specific group. This form is essential for making comparisons between a person or thing and the rest of the group.

Forming the Relative Superlative

The relative superlative is formed using the phrases il più (the most) and il meno (the least) combined with an adjective. It changes according to gender and number, so you will see forms like il più, la più, i più, and le più for the superlative of majority (the most), and similarly il meno, la meno, i meno, and le meno for the superlative of minority (the least).

Examples and Agreement

  • Il più generoso — The most generous (masculine singular)
  • La più generosa — The most generous (feminine singular)
  • I più generosi — The most generous (masculine plural)
  • Le più generose — The most generous (feminine plural)

Similarly, for expressing the lowest degree of a quality:

  • Il meno timido — The least shy (masculine singular)
  • La meno timida — The least shy (feminine singular)
  • I meno timidi — The least shy (masculine plural)
  • Le meno timide — The least shy (feminine plural)

Usage in Sentences

These superlatives are commonly used to compare one individual with the rest of a group, as in: Marco è il più timido del gruppo. (Marco is the shyest in the group.) or Maria è la meno paziente della squadra. (Maria is the least patient on the team.)

Key Points to Remember

  • The superlative agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies.
  • “Il più” and “il meno” are used for masculine singular, while “la più” and “la meno” are for feminine singular forms.
  • Plural forms include “i più” / “i meno” (masculine) and “le più” / “le meno” (feminine).

Notable Differences from English

Unlike English, which often uses suffixes like "-est" or structures with "the most/least," Italian requires the article and adjective to agree in gender and number. For example, English 'the most patient' corresponds to la più paziente (feminine singular) or i più pazienti (masculine plural). Additionally, the superlative relates explicitly to a group being compared with the preposition di or del.

Useful phrases include:

  • Il più... — The most...
  • Il meno... — The least...
  • È il più gentile. — He is the most kind.
  • È la meno divertente. — She is the least fun.

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Fabio Pirioni

Bachelor in Humanities

University of Udine

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Last Updated:

Tuesday, 15/07/2025 05:10