Breakdown of Vogliamo reclutare i giovani più promettenti.
volere
to want
più
more / anymore (with 'non')
giovane
young person, youth
promettente
promising
reclutare
to recruit
Questions & Answers about Vogliamo reclutare i giovani più promettenti.
Why is there no definite article before più promettenti to say 'the most'?
In Italian, when a relative superlative ('the most...') directly follows the noun, the noun's definite article (here, i in i giovani) does double duty. You don't repeat the article. If you moved the adjective before the noun, it would be i più promettenti giovani, but placing it after the noun is the standard structure.
How would we expand this sentence to say they are promising for a specific role?
Since this lesson focuses on adjectives that take per, you can expand this sentence by adding per plus a noun. For example, promettenti per il ruolo (promising for the role) or promettenti per il futuro (promising for the future). The adjective promettente uses per to introduce what they show promise toward.
Is promettenti related to the verb promettere?
Yes! It is the present participle of promettere (to promise). In Italian, present participles (ending in -ante or -ente) are very frequently used as adjectives. Because it ends in -e in the singular (promettente), it changes to -i for the plural, regardless of gender.
Why is giovani used as a noun here meaning 'youths'?
Giovane is fundamentally an adjective meaning 'young', but like many adjectives in Italian, it can act as a noun just by adding a definite article. Il giovane means 'the young man', and i giovani broadly means 'the youths' or 'young people'.
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