Tanto/quanto: the key to balanced comparisons

By Sigrid Lee

We talked about quanto in another lesson, as part of the expression E questo è quanto. But there's more to say about this useful word. It's not all about asking how much something costs at the market. We use quanto in comparisons, and in particular, balanced comparisons.

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In this case, quanto, and tanto are paired to compare equal quantities or qualities of things — similar to how we use "as - as" in English.

"Tanto è bravo Gaetano, quanto è pigra Luisa".

"Luisa is as lazy as Gaetano is a hard worker." "Gaetano is as good as Luisa is lazy."

Caption 47, Corso di italiano con Daniela 5) Proposizioni subordinate comparative - Part 1
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Here are some more examples from Yabla videos, from everyday speech.

Lei quindi non è un cacciatore? Per carità. Detesto tanto la pratica quanto la categoria.

So you aren't a hunter? For the love of God. I hate the practice as much as the category.

Captions 24-26, Il Commissario Manara S2EP11 - Uno strano incidente di caccia - Part 4
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This pair of adjectives can be used in the negative sense too, as in this example discussing the history of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Il problema non era tanto il peso del marmo, quanto il terreno.

The problem was not so much the weight of the marble, as it was the terrain.

Caption 5, Meraviglie EP. 4 - Part 8
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We'll go into how to construct comparisons with tanto/quanto to make balanced comparisons in a future lesson.

While we are on the subject of quanto, there is another way we use it in Italian that needs a bit of explaining. In quanto means "inasmuch," "since," "because," or simply "as."

No, dico per, per la cosa delle detrazioni fiscali, perché noi, in quanto associazione, possiamo... -Detrarre.

No, I'm saying for, for tax deductions, because we, as an association, we can... -Deduct.

No, I'm saying for, for tax deductions, because we, since we're an association, we can... -Deduct.

Captions 25-27, Liberi tutti EP4 Ma la giacca la vuole tutta? - Part 2
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In quanto is used when talking about roles, for example: In my role as a teacher, I have to set a good example. In quanto insegnante, devo essere un buon esempio.

Have you seen or heard other uses of quanto we haven't discussed? Let us know at [email protected].