Italian All-in-One For Dummies (58 page)

Narrowing Your Options

Making the right choice requires critical sense and the ability to distinguish and compare quality, styles, and prices. You don't want to be
troppo sportivo
(
trohp
-poh spohr-
tee
-voh) (
too casual
) and go to an opera's premiere in blue jeans and
maglietta
(mah-
lyeht
-tah) or
troppo elegante
(
trohp
-poh eh-leh-
gahn
-teh) (
too elegant
) and go to class in a
vestito
(veh-
stee
-toh) (
suit
) and
cravatta
(krah-
vaht
-tah) (
tie
)! If you're buying clothes, you should be aware of sizes as well. Comparing prices and quality is also very important. Keep an eye on the price tag and don't pay a fortune for a cheap item. If you find something that has
la stessa qualità
(lah
stehs
-sah kwah-lee-
tah
) (
the same quality
) at
un prezzo inferiore
(ah oohn
preht
-tzoh een-feh-
ryoh
-reh) (
a cheaper price
), go for it!

Comparing items, more or less

In both English and Italian, you can compare things in three ways. You can say something possesses a quality more than, less than, or as much as something else. The two objects you're comparing are called the first and the second term of comparison. You can convey them with names, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs.

Here are the rules for establishing comparisons in Italian:

To say that one object has a quality
more than
or
less than
another object, use
più
(pee-
ooh
) to convey
more,
meno
(
meh
-noh) to convey
less
or
fewer
(before a countable plural noun), and
di
(dee) (or a contracted form of
di
) or
che
(keh) to convey
than.
You use
di
only when the second term is a name, a pronoun without a preposition, or an adverb. Here are some examples:

Bianca è più elegante di Silvia.
(
byahn
-kah eh pee-
ooh
eh-leh-
gahn
-teh dee
seel
-vyah.) (
Bianca is more elegant than Silvia.
)

Sembra meno stretta di ieri!
(
sehm
-brah
meh
-noh
streht
-tah dee
yeh
-ree!) (
It seems less tight than yesterday!
)

When the second term is a name or a noun preceded by a preposition; or when you compare two adjectives, two adverbs, or two verbs, you can use only
che
before the second term, as shown here:

Compriamo meno gonne che pantaloni.
(kohm-
pryah
-moh
meh
-noh
gohn
-neh keh pahn-tah-
loh
-nee.) (
We'll buy fewer skirts than pants.
)

Le piace provare i vestiti
più che acquistare.
(leh
pya
-cheh proh-
vah
-reh ee veh-
stee
-tee pee-
ooh
keh ah kwee-
stah
-reh.) (
She likes trying on clothing more than buying.
)

With the exception of
migliore
and
peggiore,
meglio
and
peggio
(
better
and
worse
), unlike English, Italian doesn't add endings to adjectives or adverbs to convey that one individual possesses a quality to a different degree than someone else. For example,
vecchio
(
vehk
-kyoh) (
old
) remains the same, and you add the words
più
or
meno
before it. In English, you add
-er
to one- and two-syllable adjectives to assert a difference of degree; for example,
old
becomes
older,
and
new
becomes
newer
.

When you want to say that the degree of a quality (or the amount of an object) keeps on increasing or decreasing, as in
more and more expensive,
taller and taller,
and
less and less stylish,
in Italian you use
sempre più
and
sempre meno
(which are invariable) plus an adjective, an adverb, or a noun. For example:

È sempre più alto.
(
He is taller and taller.
)

Abbiamo sempre meno euro.
(
We have fewer and fewer euros.
)

To say that one object possesses a quality as much as another object, you use the expressions
tanto . . . quanto
or
così . . . come
to convey
as . . . as,
as much . . . as,
or
as many . . . as.
For example,
Bianca è tanto creativa quanto Silvia
(
Bianca is as creative as Silvia
).

When you use an adjective to compare two individuals, you can omit the words
tanto
or
così,
as in
Luciano è alto quanto Carlo
(
Luciano is as tall as Carlo
). You keep
tanto
and
così
when you compare two nouns, as in
Compriamo tante sciarpe quante cravatte
(
We'll buy as many scarves as ties
); two adjectives, as in
Luisa è tanto bella quanto brava
(
Luisa is as beautiful as she's good
); or two verbs, as in
A Gianni piace tanto fare acquisti quanto andare ai grandi magazzini
(
Gianni likes shopping in department stores as much as visiting outdoor markets
).

Considering price

When you visit an Italian store, try to have a strategy. Determine what you really want to buy and look at the price. Prices are labeled in euros. Often, during
saldi
(
sahl
-dee) and
svendite
(
zvehn
-dee-teh) (
sales
),
il prezzo
(eel
preht
-tsoh) (
the
price
) on the label is already reduced, but you may find tags reading
saldi alla cassa
(
sahl
-dee ahl-lah
kahs
-sah) (
reduction at the cash register
).The items are all charming and inviting, but keep in mind that
il cambio
(eel
kahm
-byoh) (
the conversion rate
) isn't always favorable. Buy goods that have a price label and do the currency conversion before you go
alla cassa
(
ahl
-lah
kahs
-sah) (
to the checkout counter
). By the way,
la fila
(lah
fee
-lah) (
the line
) in Italy isn't always very orderly! You'll often see people in groups around the cash register, waiting to pay. Keep an eye on those who arrived before you and be determined not to let anyone pass in front of you. If they try, smile and say
Mi dispiace, c'ero prima io!
(mee dee-
spyah
-cheh,
cheh
-roh
pree
-mah
ee
-oh!) (
Sorry, I was here before you!
)