What about the most delicious pasta? The ultimate gelato? The absolute superlative expresses the concepts of very, extremely, or most. In Italian, superlatives are formed by adding the suffix -issimo to an adjective or adverb after dropping the final vowel. There are four forms corresponding to gender and number).
FORMING SUPERLATIVES IN ITALIAN | |
alto (tall) |
altissimo, altissima, altissimi, altissime |
buono (good) |
buonissimo, buonissima, buonissimi, buonissime |
veloce (quick) |
velocissimo, velocissima, velocissimi, velocissime |
IRREGULAR ITALIAN ADJECTIVES | ||
ADJECTIVE |
COMPARATIVE |
ABSOLUTE SUPERLATIVE |
alto (high) |
superiore (higher) |
supremo/sommo (highest) |
basso (low) |
inferiore (lower) |
infimo (lowest) |
buono (good) |
migliore (better) |
ottimo (best) |
cattivo (bad) |
peggiore (worse) |
pessimo (worst) |
grande (big) |
maggiore (big) |
massimo (biggest) |
piccolo (small) |
minore (smaller) |
minimo (smallest) |
NOTE: When forming the absolute superlative of adjectives ending in -co, -go, -ca, and -ga, add an h to the ending before -issimo: ricca/ricchissima, larga/larghissima, stanco/stanchissimo. This is done to maintain the hard "c" or hard "g" sound.