Italian Language Blog
Menu
Search

Making Comparisons In Italian Posted by on Feb 5, 2018 in Grammar

When learning how to make comparisons students are usually taught to use più (more) or meno (less) and the preposition di (than). But is this always the case? Let’s find out.

Pontremoli è molto più bella di La Spezia. Pontremoli is far more beautiful than La Spezia. Photo by Geoff.

Here are some examples that follow the rule outlined above:
La Spezia è più grande di Pontremoli = La Spezia is bigger than Pontremoli
or Pontremoli è più piccola di La Spezia = Pontremoli is smaller than La Spezia
La mia valigia è meno pesante della tua = My suitcase is less heavy than yours
or La tua valigia è più pesante della mia = Your suitcase is heavier than mine
N.B. in the second example ‘di’ combines with the definite article ‘la’ to become della. See my recent blog Combining Articles With Prepositions

Nice and straightforward, vero? However (yes, there’s always a however in Italian!) it won’t be long before you come across sentences such as:
Piove meno qua che in Inghilerra = It rains less here than in England
or Meglio tardi che mai = Better late than never

Oh well, so much for the più/meno + di rule! Unfortunately, dear readers, “non esiste una regola semplice sull’uso del che e del di(there isn’t a simple rule for the use of che or di). In fact you can often use either, for example:

Uso meno la macchina che la bicicletta = I use my car less than my bicycle
or Uso meno la macchina della bicicletta = I use my car less than my bicycle
Roma è più antica che Firenze = Rome is older than Florence
or Roma è più antica di Firenze = Rome is older than Florence

So, how do you decide whether to use di or che? Well, as a general rule we we tend to use di more frequently, but che works better when:

1. it precedes an infinitive:  

Mi piace più leggere che guardare la TV = I like reading better than watching TV
Preferisco camminare che correre = I prefer to walk rather than run

2. it precedes another adjective:

Oggi è più umido che freddo = Today is more humid than cold
La casa è più pratica che bella = The house is more practical than beautiful

3. it precedes another preposition such as in or a:

Il clima qui è più bello che in Inghilterra = The weather here is nicer than in England
Vado più spesso a Firenze che a Milano = I go to Florence more often than to Milan

At the end of the day, knowing when to use di or che can be difficult because the difference is often very subtle.

C’è più sole in Sicilia che in Piemonte = There is more sun in Sicily than in Piedmont
La Sicilia è più arida del Piemonte = Sicily is more arid than Piedmont

As with most aspects of learning a language, this is something that comes with practice and experience. Pazienza!

Tags:
Keep learning Italian with us!

Build vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and more with Transparent Language Online. Available anytime, anywhere, on any device.

Try it Free Find it at your Library
Share this:
Pin it

Comments:

  1. Ian Loudon:

    For comparisons, this rule seems to work and is easy to remember:

    Put che between words which are the same part of speech. Put di if different.

    It works with your last few examples.

    Thanks for all the posts.

    • Serena:

      @Ian Loudon Salve Ian, grazie per il commento.
      To explain the difference between ‘di’ and ‘che’ in comparisons, some textbooks use the rule you quoted: “Put che between words which are the same part of speech. Put di if different.” Other textbooks, such as my grammar book at the Liceo Classico, use the rule we quoted in this post, and which I personally find easier to understand and, therefore, to explain.
      I believe that it’s just a different way of looking at the same rule.
      Saluti da Serena

  2. Tom Clothier:

    Years ago my instructor stated that, “di before nouns, pronouns, and numerals, and che for everything else. I must say though I have never seen that formula applied consistently.
    Thanks for your great work.

  3. robert rovinsky:

    Excellent summary! Now I’m waiting for comparisons of equals. My house is as big as yours, and so on. Thank you.

  4. Elizabeth:

    Another useful blog. I’ve been puzzled for a long time about che and di when making comparisons. I had thought that one was when comparing something similar and the other for different things.

    • Serena:

      @Elizabeth Salve Elizabeth, grazie per il commento. S
      See my reply to Ian.
      Saluti da Serena

  5. Gill:

    Mi piacciono molto gli articoli come questo, li trovo molto utili. Grazie!


Leave a comment: