A volte la vita reale è più strana della finzione.

Sometimes real life is stranger than fiction.

Breakdown of A volte la vita reale è più strana della finzione.

• essere: to be
• a volte: sometimes
• la vita: the life
• più: more
• di: than
• reale: real
• strano: strange

Questions & Answers about A volte la vita reale è più strana della finzione.

What does A volte mean in this sentence?

A volte translates to “sometimes” in English. It indicates that what follows applies on occasion rather than all the time.

How is the comparative structure constructed in this sentence, especially with più and della?

The sentence uses the structure più … di … to form a comparison. Here, più strana means “stranger”, and della finzione is a contraction of di + la finzione, effectively meaning “than the fiction.” This is a standard way in Italian to compare two entities.

Why are definite articles used with both vita reale and finzione, even though they refer to general concepts?

In Italian, it’s common to use definite articles with abstract or general nouns. La vita reale and la finzione treat real life and fiction as specific, recognized ideas, which adds clarity and a sense of definiteness to the concepts being compared.

How does adjective-noun agreement work in this sentence, particularly with vita reale and strana?

Italian adjectives must agree with the nouns they modify in both gender and number. Since vita is a feminine singular noun, both reale (modifying vita) and strana (the adjective used in the comparison) appear in the feminine singular form, ensuring grammatical consistency.

Are there any nuances in the choice of words reale and finzione that affect the meaning?

Yes. Reale emphasizes what is authentic or actual, referring to everyday life, while finzione relates to something invented or imagined. The sentence plays on the idea that actual life can be unexpectedly unusual—in a way, even more unusual than the scenarios found in fictional narratives.