Breakdown of Il cavallo è più forte dell'uomo.
essere
to be
l'uomo
the man (m)
il cavallo
the horse
più
more / anymore (with 'non')
di
than
forte
strong
Questions & Answers about Il cavallo è più forte dell'uomo.
Why is 'than' translated as dell' instead of just di?
The basic word for 'than' in Italian comparisons is di. However, Italian requires a definite article (the 'the' word) before general nouns like uomo (man). When the preposition di combines with the article l', they merge into the single word dell'. So, the sentence literally says 'more strong of the man'.
How do you form words like 'stronger'? There is no special ending like in English.
Would forte change if we were comparing a feminine noun?
No, it would stay exactly the same. Adjectives that end in -e in the singular, like forte, are used for both masculine and feminine nouns. They only change if the noun is plural, becoming forti.
Why does the sentence use Il cavallo (The horse)? In English, we usually say 'Horses are stronger...'.
In Italian, when you talk about a general category or an entire species, you must include a definite article. You can use either the singular Il cavallo (the horse) or the plural I cavalli (the horses) to mean 'horses in general'.
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