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Il mio coltellino è più affilato del tuo.

Il mio coltellino è più affilato del tuo.
My small knife is sharper than yours.
FromLesson 37inHardcore Italian

Breakdown of Il mio coltellino è più affilato del tuo.

essere
to be
il mio
my
più
more
di
than
affilato
sharp
il coltellino
the small knife
tuo
yours

Questions & Answers about Il mio coltellino è più affilato del tuo.

What does coltellino mean, and how is it different from coltello?
coltellino is the diminutive of coltello, so it literally means “little knife” or “pocket knife.” The suffix -ino expresses smallness or endearment.
Why is it il mio coltellino and not just mio coltellino?
In Italian, possessive adjectives almost always require a definite article (il, la, i, le) before them, except when referring to singular, unmodified family members. Since coltellino is not a family member, you need il.
How do we express a comparison of superiority in Italian?
We use più + adjective + di to say “more … than ….” Here, più affilato di means “sharper than.”
Why is it del tuo instead of di tuo?
The comparative uses di to introduce the second term. But since you’re comparing with il tuo coltellino, you combine di + il tuo into the contraction del tuo. Fully spelled out, it’d be di (il) tuo coltellino.
Could you include the noun after tuo, like del tuo coltellino?
Yes—absolutely. You can say Il mio coltellino è più affilato del tuo coltellino. Omitting the second coltellino is just an elliptical shortcut because it’s understood from context.
When should I use di versus che in comparisons?

Use di to compare different people or things:
• È più alto di me. (“He’s taller than me.”)
Use che when comparing two qualities of the same thing:
• Questo coltello è più bello che pratico. (“This knife is more beautiful than practical.”)

What part of speech is affilato, and why does it follow the verb è?
affilato is the past participle of the verb affilare, used here as a predicate adjective. In Italian, predicate adjectives normally follow the verb essere (to be): Soggetto + è + aggettivo.
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