Character and personality
Carattere e personalità
- Learn to describe the character of people.
- Talk about personalities.
- The relative superlative: il più, il meno, i più, ...
Learn how to describe character and personality in Italian using relative superlatives such as "il più" and "il meno." This A1-level lesson covers positive and negative traits vocabulary, dialogues about friends and colleagues, and exercises reinforcing passato prossimo verb forms. Perfect for building comparisons and expressing opinions about people.
Vocabulary (13) Share Copied!
Exercises Share Copied!
These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.
Exercise 1: Reorder sentences
Instruction: Make correct sentences and translate.
Exercise 2: Match a word
Instruction: Match the translations
Exercise 3: Cluster the words
Instruction: Classify the words based on the type of character: positive or negative.
Carattere positivo
Carattere negativo
Exercise 4: Translate and use in a sentence
Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.
1
Stressato
Stressed
2
Timido
Shy
3
Amichevole
Friendly
4
Simpatico
Likeable
5
Goffo
Clumsy
Esercizio 5: Conversation exercise
Istruzione:
- Describe and compare the people. (Describe and compare the people. )
- Describe your own character. (Describe your own character.)
- Describe your family members and friends. (Describe your family members and friends.)
Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes
Example phrases:
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Juliette e Lukas sono una coppia affettuosa. Juliette and Lukas are an affectionate couple. |
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Raúl è la persona più chiusa. È introverso. Raúl is the most closed person. He is introverted. |
|
Caitlin non è sportiva; è la persona meno attiva. Caitlin is not sporty; she is the least active person. |
|
È la persona più pigra. He is the most lazy person. |
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Sembro pigro ma sono attivo. I seem lazy but I am active. |
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Posso essere timido se non conosco le persone. I can be shy if I do not know the people. |
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Non è onesto. He is not honest. |
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Lei è molto amichevole ma non molto intelligente. She is very friendly but not very smart. |
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Sono studenti intelligenti. They are intelligent students. |
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Sono piuttosto stupidi, ma non glielo diremo. They are rather dumb, but we will not tell them. |
| ... |
Exercise 6: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 7: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Ieri __ incontrato la mia collega più simpatica in ufficio.
(Yesterday __ met my nicest colleague at the office.)2. Lei __ stata la meno stressata durante la riunione di ieri.
(She __ was the least stressed during yesterday’s meeting.)3. Il mio amico __ il più timido del gruppo.
(My friend __ the shyest in the group.)4. Abbiamo __ il collega più generoso alla festa aziendale.
(We __ the most generous colleague at the company party.)Exercise 8: Meeting new colleagues at the company party
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Incontrare - Meet
Passato prossimo
- io ho incontrato
- tu hai incontrato
- lui/lei ha incontrato
- noi abbiamo incontrato
- voi avete incontrato
- loro hanno incontrato
Sembrare - Seem
Passato prossimo
- io sono sembrato/a
- tu sei sembrato/a
- lui/lei è sembrato/a
- noi siamo sembrati/e
- voi siete sembrati/e
- loro sono sembrati/e
Parlare - Talk
Passato prossimo
- io ho parlato
- tu hai parlato
- lui/lei ha parlato
- noi abbiamo parlato
- voi avete parlato
- loro hanno parlato
Exercise 9: Il superlativo relativo: il più, il meno, i più, ...
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The relative superlative: il più, il meno, i più, ...
Show translation Show answersil più intelligente, il più pigro, la più bugiarda, la più generosa, il più goffo, la più timida, la meno stressata, il meno socievole
Grammar Share Copied!
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A1.28.1 Grammatica
Il superlativo relativo: il più, il meno, i più, ...
The relative superlative: il più, il meno, i più, ...
Verb conjugation tables for this lesson Share Copied!
Incontrare to meet Share Copied!
Passato prossimo
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| (io) ho incontrato | I met |
| (tu) hai incontrato | You have met |
| (lui/lei) ha incontrato | He/she met |
| (noi) abbiamo incontrato | we met |
| (voi) avete incontrato | You have met |
| (loro) hanno incontrato | they have met |
Sembrare to seem Share Copied!
Passato prossimo
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| (io) sono sembrato / sono sembrata | I seemed |
| (tu) sei sembrato / sei sembrata | You seemed |
| (lui/lei) è sembrato / è sembrata | he/she seemed |
| (noi) siamo sembrati / siamo sembrate | we seemed |
| (voi) siete sembrati / siete sembrate | You seemed |
| (loro) sono sembrati / sono sembrate | they seemed |
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Understanding Character and Personality with Relative Superlatives
This lesson introduces you to the use of relative superlatives in Italian, focusing on describing character and personality traits. You'll learn how to express "the most" or "the least" qualities in people, which is essential for making comparisons and talking about friends, colleagues, or new acquaintances.
Key Grammar Focus
The structure involves phrases such as il più (the most) and il meno (the least), used with adjectives to compare people’s personality traits. Example sentences include Chi è il tuo amico più simpatico? (Who is your nicest friend?) and Marco è il più intelligente della classe. (Marco is the most intelligent in the class).
Vocabulary for Character Traits
You will classify and use words related to positive and negative personality traits. For positive traits, words like amichevole (friendly), generoso (generous), intelligente (intelligent), and simpatico (nice) are important. Negative traits include antipatico (unpleasant), bugiardo (liar), and pigro (lazy).
Practice with Dialogues and Exercises
The lesson provides dialogues about describing colleagues and friends using relative superlatives. You’ll get to practice conversations like comparing who is the most or least fun, kind, or intelligent person in a group. Multiple-choice exercises and a short story help reinforce verb conjugations, particularly the passato prossimo tense with verbs like incontrare (to meet) and sembrare (to seem).
Cultural and Linguistic Notes
In Italian, the use of relative superlatives requires definite articles (il, la, i) before più or meno, unlike English where "most" or "least" can sometimes appear without an article. For example, Italian: il più simpatico versus English: "the nicest." Useful phrases include:
- Chi è il più...: Who is the most...
- È il meno...: He/She is the least...
- Sembra il più...: He/She seems the most...
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