ADJECTIVES

ADJECTIVES

Adjectives belong to the category of variable parts of the speech. They accompain nouns, qualifying their meaning, by adding some some specifications or descriptions.

An adjective can be qualificativo, descriptive, when it describes a quality of the noun.
An adjective can be determinativo, definite, when it gives particular information about the noun.

•    Descriptive adjectives

Quella sera l’aria era tiepida e dolce. Anna passeggiava per il giardino e guardava le belle rose rosse, gialle e bianche curate da sua madre con tanto amore: erano appena sbocciate e il loro profumo, intenso, la riempiva di gioia.

(That evening the air was tepid and sweet. Anna was walking through the garden looking the beautiful red, yellow and white roses that her mother made grow with lot of love: they had just blossomed and their intense perfume filled her with joy.

- They are endless: they concern every single aspect of reality or fantasy.
For example:
il colore (colour)                   giallo (yellow), rosso (red), verde (green);
la materia (material)             dorato (golden), argentato (silvered), ligneo (wooden);
la forma (shape)                   quadrato (square), rettangolare (rectangular), sferico (orbital);
la dimensione (dimension)      alto (tall), basso (short), largo (large);
il tempo (time)                      quotidiano (daily), mensile (monthly), notturno (nightly);
il luogo (space)                     montano (mountainous), marino (marine), urbano (urban);
il modo di essere (mood)        giovanile (juvenile), sazio (satiated), antipatico (unsympathetic);
i sentimenti (feelings)            triste (sad), malinconico (melancholic), allegro (cheerful);
                     …                                            …

- They must agree in gender and number with the nouns they refer to.

For example:    È un bambino simpatico                      È una bambina simpatica
                     (He’s nice boy)                                  (She’s a nice girl)
                     Sono bambini simpatici                       Sono bambine simpatiche
                    (They are nice boys)                           (They’re nice girls)

The same roles used to inflect a noun to the masculine, feminine, singular and plural forms can be used also to inflect the adjective. In particular:

- If the adjective is set before the noun, it has less importance.
If the adjective is set after the noun, it has more importance.
For example:     È un simpatico bambino        È un bambino simpatico
                      (He’s a nice boy)

•    Descriptive adjectives’ levels

• Descriptive adjectives of grado positivo, positive degree: they only express a quality, without stating a measure. For example: Luca è bello. (Luca is beautiful). Maria è alta. (Maria is tall). Giorgia è bionda. (Giorgia is blonde).

• Descriptive adjectives of grado comparativo, comparative degree: they set a comparison between two people, animals or things, respectively called primo termine di paragone, first element of comparison, e secondo termine di paragone, second element of comparison. There are three different comparative degrees:

- grado comparativo di maggioranza, higher degree comparative: the quality is possessed by the first element of comparison. It’s made up by these words: più + adjective + di/che.
For example: Luca è più bello di Francesco. (Luca is more beautiful than Francesco).
                  Maria è più alta di Anna. (Maria is taller than Anna.)

- grado comparativo di uguaglianza, same degree comparative: the quality is possessed in the same measure by both the elements. It’s made up by these words: aggettivo + come or aggettivo + quanto.
For example: Luca è bello come Francesco. Luca è bello quanto Francesco.
                  (Luca is as beautiful as Francesco.)
                  Maria è alta come Anna. Maria è alta quanto Anna.
                  (Maria is as tall as Anna.)

- grado comparativo di minoranza, lower degree comparative: the quality is possessed by the second element of comparison. It’s made up by these words: meno + aggettivo + di/che.
For example: Luca è meno bello di Francesco. (Luca is less beautiful than Francesco.)
                  Maria è meno alta di Anna. (Maria is less tall than Anna.)

• Descriptive adjectives of grado superlativo, superlative degree: they refer to something or somebody as having ‘the most’ of a certain quality. There are two different comparative degrees:
- grado superlativo relativo, relative superlative degree: it sets a quality possessed at the highest or at the lowest degree in relation to a particolar group of people and things. It’s built in this way: il/la più (or il/la meno) + adjective, or il/la + noun + più/meno + adjective.
For example: Luca è il più bello della classe. Maria è la più alta della scuola.
                  (Luca is the most beautiful in the class. Mary is the tallest of the school.)
                  Luca è il meno alto della classe. Maria è la meno alta della scuola.
                  (Luca is the least tall of the class. Maria is the least tall of the school.)
                  È la torta più buona che abbia mai mangiato.
                 (It’s the best cake I’ve ever eaten.)
                  È la torta meno buona che abbia mai mangiato.
                 (It’s the worst cake I’ve ever eaten.)
      
- grado superlativo assoluto, absolute superlative degree: it establishes a quality at the highest or at the lowest degree, without making comparisons. It’s formed adding the suffix -issimo at the end of the adjective, otherwise setting before the adjective the words molto, assai, decisamente.
For example: Luca è bellissimo. Maria è altissima. (Luca is very beautiful. Maria is very tall.)
                  Luca è molto bello. Maria è molto alta.
                         
•    Attention: some adjectives has a special form for comparative and superlative, because they conserve a latin derivation. For example:
buono  >   migliore >  ottimo  (good  >  better  > the best);
cattivo > peggiore  > pessimo  (bad  >  worse  >  the worst);
grande > maggiore > massimo  (big  >  bigger  > the biggest);
piccolo > minore > minimo  (little  > less  >  the least);
alto > superiore > supremo (o sommo) (high  >  higher  >  the highest);
basso > inferiore > infimo  (low  >  lower  >  the lowest).


•    Definite adjectives

Il mio giardino era così bello! Vi crescevano molti alberi e tanti fiori, lo curavo con tanta, troppa attenzione. Appena avevo del tempo libero mi precipitavo tra quelle piante e tornavo a sentirmi felice. Qualche volta, addirittura, rimanevo lì parecchie ore, mi fermavo fino a notte fonda, per cercare di sentire il loro respiro.

(My garden was so beautiful! Many trees and lots of flowers grew up there, I carried about him with much, too much attention. As soon as I had some spare time I ran through that plants and I returned to feel happy again. Sometimes I even remained there for many hours, till the dead of the night, looking for their breath.)

- They clarify, about the name: the possession, the quantity, the position, the number.
They can also indicate a question or an exclamation.

- Definite adjectives can be divided into these categories:
possessivi (possessive adjectives)
indefiniti (indefinite adjectives)
dimostrativi (demonstrative adjectives)
numerali (numeral adjectives)
interrogativi (interrogative adjectives)
esclamativi (exclamative adjectives)


•    Definite adjectives: the possessives

The possessives, possessivi, indicate the person to whom something or somebody belongs. Like the personal pronouns, they have six grammatical persons. Each of these persons has four different endings, which must agree with the noun they specify, with the exception of loro, which is invariable.

 For example: Quella è la mia gonna. Prestami il tuo libro. Il suo lavoro è bellissimo.
                   (That is my skirt. Lend me your book. His job is really beautiful.)
                    Nostra madre compie gli anni. La vostra squadra è forte. La loro casa è nuova.
                   (Our mother will have a birthday. Your team is great. Their house is new.)

- They always agree with the noun they specify.
- Usually they are set before the name they specify.


•    Definite adjectives: the indefinitives

Are called indefinitives, indefiniti, that adjectives indicating an indefinite quantity or indefinite measure related to a noun.
- They can suggest a unity or an indetermined plurality: qualunque (whatever), qualsiasi (any), nessuno (no), qualche (some), alcuno (any), ciascuno (every), ogni (each), certo (certain), etc.
For example: Dammi un quaderno qualunque. Una qualsiasi penna che funzioni mi va bene.
                  (Give me whatever notebook. Whatever pen which works will be ok.)
                   Ho incontrato qualche cane al parco. Certe persone sono maleducate.
                   (I met some dogs at the park. Certain people are impolite.)

- They can suggest an indefinite quantity: molto (many), poco (few), tanto (a lot of), parecchio (quite a lot), troppo (too much), vario (various), altrettanto (as much), etc.
For example: Ho molto tempo libero. Ha comprato troppi libri! Abbiamo poca voglia di uscire.
                  (I have much free time. I bought too many books. We have no desire of going out.)

- They can indicate a totality: tutto (all).
For example: Ho mangiato tutta la torta. Non sono riuscita a vedere tutto il film.
                  (I ate all the cake. I couldn’t see all the film.)

- Attention:

Some indefinite adjectives are invariable: qualche, ogni, qualsiasi. They are only singular and they have only one form for both for the masculine and for the feminine.

Uno, ciascuno, nessuno are only singular but they have different forms for the masculine and the feminine: uno/una; ciascuno/ciascuna; nessuno/nessuna.

The other indefinites are all invariable in number and gender: troppo, tutto, poco, molto, vario, diverso, etc.


•    Definite adjectives: the demonstrative

Are called demonstrative, dimostrativi, the adjectiveds indicating the position of a persona or a thing in relation to the speaker:
- questo (this) refers to somebody or something near who is speaking;
- quello (that) refers to somebody or something far from who is speaking.

For example: Questa pasta è buonissima. Questi giochi mi hanno stufato.
                  (This pasta is amazing. These games got me bored.)
                  Quella bambina è scatenata! Quel ragazzo sembra carino.
                  (That little girl is wild! That boy seems nice.)
 
- They are variable and they agree in number and gender with the noun they accompain.

 •    Definite adjectives: the numerals

Are called numerals, numerali, the adjectives that indicate with precision an exact quantity.
They can be divided into different categories: cardinals, ordinals, multiplicatives, distributives.

- Ordinal adjectives - Aggettivi numerali ordinali
They establish a numerical quantity: they are the basic numbers. They are invariable.
For example: uno (one), due (two), tre (three), cento (hundred), etc.
                  Ho comprato due mele e tre pesche. (I bought two apples and three peaches.)
                  Ha fatto dieci chilometri di coda. (I found a ten km queue.)

- Cardinal adjectives - Aggettivi numerali cardinali
They establish an order; they are variable.
For example: primo (first), secondo (second), terzo (third), centesimo (hundredth), etc.
                  Era il suo primo giorno di scuola. (It was her first day of school.)
                   È la centesima volta che te lo ripeto! (It’s the hundredth time that I say it to you!)

- Multiplicative adjectives - Aggettivi numerali moltiplicativi
They suggest how many times a certain quantity must be multiplied. They are variable.
For example: doppio (double), triplo (triple), quadruplo (quadruple), etc.
                  La ginnasta ha fatto un triplo salto mortale.
                  (The gymnast made a triple mortal jump.)
                   Maria ha preso doppia razione di spaghetti.
                  (Mary took double spaghetti.)

- Distributive adjectives - Aggettivi numerali distributivi
They suggest how to distribute a certain quantity.
For example: a uno a uno (one-one), a due a due (by twos), tre a testa (three each), etc.
                  Ho distribuito tre caramelle a testa. (I gave three sweets each.)
                  I bambini erano stati messi in fila a due a due. (Children were set in line by twos.)


•    Definite adjectives: exclamatives and interrogatives

Are called interrogatives, interrogativi, and exclamatives, esclamativi, the adjectives introducing a question or an exlamation about a quantity or a quality. They always accompain a noun.

Belong to this categories che, quale, quanto.
For example: Che giorno è oggi? Quanti anni hai? Quali sono le tue scarpe?
                  (What day is today? How old are you? Which shoes are yours?
                  Che pomeriggio noioso! Quanto rumore per nulla! Quali meraviglie qui nascoste!   
                 (What a boring afternoon! How much ado about nothing! What wonderful hidden treasure!) 

- Che is invariable, quale is variable in number, quanto is variable in number and gender.
- They are always set before a noun; if the noun is accompained by a descriptive adjective, they go before both the descriptive adjective and the noun: Che bella festa! (What a lovely party!)



Click here if you want to do the exercises about this subject

these contents are maintained by
Centro Sapere Più - Milano - Italia

Italian courses for foreigners

• < Prev
• Next >