{"id":549,"date":"2010-11-11T20:09:49","date_gmt":"2010-11-11T20:09:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=549"},"modified":"2010-11-11T20:09:49","modified_gmt":"2010-11-11T20:09:49","slug":"making-comparisons-di-or-che","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/making-comparisons-di-or-che\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Comparisons: di or che?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When learning how to make comparisons students of Italian are normally taught to use either pi\u00f9<\/strong> (more) or meno <\/strong>(less) in front of the adjective and use di <\/strong>to translate ‘than’, e.g.:<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Milano \u00e8 pi\u00f9 grande di<\/u> Genova<\/strong><\/td>\nMilan is bigger than<\/u> Genoa<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
La mia borsa \u00e8 meno pesante della<\/u> tua<\/strong><\/td>\nMy bag is less heavier than<\/u> yours<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Note that ‘di’<\/strong> combines with the definite article to make one word: di<\/strong> + il <\/strong>becomes del<\/strong>, di<\/strong> + la<\/strong>  becomes della<\/strong>, and so on.<\/p>\n

Great! This seems simple and straightforward for once! But before long the unsuspecting student will come across a sentence such as:<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/font><\/font> <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Il clima qui \u00e8 pi\u00f9 bello che<\/u> in Inghilterra<\/strong><\/td>\nThe weather here is nicer than<\/u> in England<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mio marito \u00e8 pi\u00f9 intelligente che accademico<\/strong><\/td>\nMy husband is more intelligent than<\/u> (he is) academic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

or the popular saying: meglio tardi che mai <\/strong>(better late than never).<\/p>\n

Surely there must be something wrong, what’s happened to di<\/strong>? Well, what the textbooks don’t usually tell you is that "non esiste una regola rigida sull’uso del che<\/em> e del di<\/em>" <\/strong>(there isn’t a strict rule on the use of che<\/em> or di<\/em>). In fact there are situations in which you can use either. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Uso meno la macchina che<\/u> la \/ della<\/u> bicicletta<\/strong><\/td>\nI use the car less than<\/u> the bicycle<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Roma \u00e8 pi\u00f9 antica che \/ di<\/u> Firenze<\/strong><\/td>\nRome is older than<\/u> Florence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

As a general rule we we tend to use di<\/strong> more than che<\/strong>, however che <\/strong>is preferred when:<\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>it precedes an infinitive<\/em>:   <\/em><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font> <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Mi piace pi\u00f9 leggere che<\/u> guardare la TV<\/strong><\/td>\nI like reading rather than<\/u> watching TV<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00c8 meglio prevenire che<\/u> curare<\/strong><\/td>\nIt’s better to prevent than<\/u> to treat<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

2. <\/strong>it precedes another adjective:<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/font><\/font> <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Mario \u00e8 pi\u00f9 simpatico che<\/u> bello<\/strong><\/td>\nMario is more likeable than<\/u> he is handsome<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oggi \u00e8 pi\u00f9 umido che freddo<\/strong><\/td>\nToday is more humid than<\/u> cold<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

3. <\/strong>it precedes another preposition such as in<\/strong> or a<\/strong>:<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Il clima qui \u00e8 pi\u00f9 bello che<\/u> in Inghilterra<\/strong><\/td>\nThe weather here is nicer than<\/u> in England<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vado pi\u00f9 spesso a Firenze che<\/u> a Milano<\/strong><\/td>\nI go to Florence more often than<\/u> to Milan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Unfortunately, knowing when to use di<\/strong> or che<\/strong> is very difficult because the difference is often very subtle, e.g.:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
C’\u00e8 pi\u00f9 sole in Sicilia che<\/u> in Piemonte<\/strong><\/td>\nThere is more sun in Sicily than<\/u> in Piedmont<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
La Sicilia \u00e8 pi\u00f9 arida del<\/u> Piemonte<\/strong><\/td>\nSicily is more arid than<\/u> Piedmont<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

As with most aspects of learning a language, this is something that comes with practice and experience. Pazienza!<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When learning how to make comparisons students of Italian are normally taught to use either pi\u00f9 (more) or meno (less) in front of the adjective and use di to translate ‘than’, e.g.: Milano \u00e8 pi\u00f9 grande di Genova Milan is bigger than Genoa La mia borsa \u00e8 meno pesante della tua My bag is less…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[12384,12385,12383,12387,12386],"class_list":["post-549","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-grammar","tag-comparativi","tag-di-or-che","tag-making-comaprisons","tag-meglio-che","tag-meglio-di"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t