Last week I published a blog called Making Comparisons In Italian in which we looked at the use of di and che in conjunction with più or meno. Here’s an exercise that will give you an opportunity to put that knowledge into practice.

Photo by Geoff

Firstly though, we’re going to see how we describe things that are in some way the same. These types of description are called comparativi di uguaglianza (comparison of equals), and are relatively simple to use.
We construct comparativi di uguaglianza by using either come or quanto. These two are interchangeable and which you use is a matter of personal preference:
La nostra casa è grande come/quanto quella di Marco = Our house is as big as Marco’s
La mia macchina è veloce come/quanto quella di Cinzia = My car is as fast a Cinzia’s

Sometimes we use tanto/i/a/e (as much/as many) with quanto:
Mario ha bevuto tanta birra quanto Paolo = Mario has drunk as much beer as Paolo
Pietro ha fatto tanto lavoro quanto Fabio = Pietro has done as much work as Fabio
C’erano tante ragazze quanti ragazzi = There were as many girls as boys
N.B. tanto and quanto must agree in number and gender with the thing that they describe, hence tante ragazze … quanti ragazzi.

We can also use così with come, however, in this case così is optional:
Noemi è così alta come Maria = Noemi is as tall as Maria
or, Noemi è alta come Maria = Noemi is as tall as Maria

Allora, let’s move on to the exercise. Fill in the missing comparatives in the Italian text below.

Tuscan Villa For sale – Chapter 3
Vendesi Villa Toscana – Capitolo 3

Geoff puts the key in the door and tries to turn it … the lock is as old and rusty as the one on the gate, but the door gives less resistance than we expect and we find ourselves in the entrance hall of the villa. It’s longer than it is wide, and also serves as a corridor. Several rooms lead into it.
Geoff infila la chiave nella porta e prova a girarla … la serratura è ___ vecchia ed arrugginita ___ quella del cancello, ma la porta fa ___ resistenza ___ quanto ci aspettiamo e ci troviamo nell’ingresso della villa. E’ ___ lungo ___ largo, e infatti serve anche da corridoio. Su di esso si aprono varie stanze.

On the right there’s a small study: three walls are covered with shelves full of books, the shelves are as tall as the room, and more than half of them are volumes on ancient history. Near the window there’s a desk with a chair. The study is darker than the corridor and Serena tries to open the shutters, but the handle is stiff, so Geoff who had stronger hands than Serena, sorts it out.
Sulla destra c’è un piccolo studio: tre pareti sono ricoperte di scaffali pieni di libri, gli scaffali sono alti ___ la stanza, e __ __ metà sono volumi di storia antica. Vicino alla finestra c’è una scrivania con la sedia. Lo studio è ___ buio ___ corridoio e Serena cerca di aprire gli scuri, ma la maniglia è dura, quindi ci pensa Geoff che ha le mani ___ forti ___ Serena.

On the same side of the corridor there’s another room which is as big as the previous one. This room is furnished as a living room: there’s an old television, a gramophone which looks as old as the house, as many books as there were in the study, and two armchairs which look like they’re more comfortable than they are elegant. In one corner there’s a small cast iron stove exactly the same as the one we have at home.
Sullo stesso lato del corridoio c’è un’altra stanza grande ___ la precedente. Questa stanza è adibita a soggiorno: ci sono un vecchio televisore, un grammofono che sembra vecchio ___ la casa, ___ libri ___ ce n’erano nello studio, e due poltrone che a vedersi sono ___ comode ___ eleganti. In un angolo c’è una piccola stufa in ghisa proprio ___ quella che abbiamo a casa nostra.

On the left of the corridor there’s the kitchen and the dining room. The kitchen is smaller than I’d like, but it includes a lovely marble sink. The dining room is larger than the kitchen, but the furniture is too dark and imposing for our tastes.
Sulla sinistra del corridoio ci sono la cucina e poi la sala da pranzo. La cucina è ___ grande ___ quello che mi piacerebbe, ma comprende un bel lavandino in marmo. La sala da pranzo è ___ ampia ___ cucina, ma i mobili sono troppo scuri e imponenti per i nostri gusti.

At the end of the corridor are the stairs leading to the upper floor. What will we find up there, will it be as interesting as the first floor?
In fondo al corridoio ci sono le scale che portano al piano di sopra. Cosa troveremo lassù, sarà ___ interessante ___ il primo piano?

You can find the previous two exercises in this series here:
The Italian Article – An Exercise.
Tuscan Villa For Sale – An Exercise