Questa matita è tanto lunga quanto la mia penna.

the pen

Breakdown of Questa matita è tanto lunga quanto la mia penna.

• essere: to be
• lungo: long
• questa: this

Questions & Answers about Questa matita è tanto lunga quanto la mia penna.

What is the function of tanto … quanto in this sentence?

tanto … quanto is a correlative conjunction used to express a comparison of equality (English “as … as”). In Questa matita è tanto lunga quanto la mia penna, it links the adjective lunga to two items (the pencil and the pen), stating they share the same length.

Why is tanto not inflected (e.g. into tanta) here?

Here tanto is an adverb modifying lunga, and adverbs in Italian do not change form for gender or number. Only when tanto acts as an adjective meaning “so much” or “so many” does it agree with a noun (e.g. tante matite, tanti libri).

Why does the adjective appear as lunga instead of lungo?

Adjectives in Italian must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Since matita is feminine singular, lungo becomes lunga. If the noun were masculine singular you’d use lungo, feminine plural lunghe, and masculine plural lunghi.

Why do we include the definite article in la mia penna? Why not just mia penna?