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Questo dizionario è tanto utile quanto il libro.

Questo dizionario è tanto utile quanto il libro.
This dictionary is as useful as the book.
From Lesson 86:Comparisons of equality (così... come)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Questo dizionario è tanto utile quanto il libro.

Can I use così ... come instead of tanto ... quanto in this sentence?
Yes, absolutely! When comparing adjectives like utile, tanto ... quanto and così ... come both mean as... as and are completely interchangeable. You could perfectly well say Questo dizionario è così utile come il libro.
Do tanto and quanto ever change their endings to match the nouns?
Not in this sentence. Because they are comparing how utile (useful) the things are, they act as adverbs and stay exactly as tanto and quanto. They only change their endings to match nouns if you are comparing quantities of things, like saying as many dictionaries as books.
Why isn't there a definite article after Questo, like Questo il dizionario?
Words like questo (this) and quello (that) take the place of the definite article. Unlike possessive words where you need the article, like il mio dizionario (the my dictionary), questo does the job all by itself.
I see the adjective utile ends in -e. Does it change if the noun is feminine?
It does not! Italian adjectives that end in -e in the singular are used for both masculine and feminine nouns. If you were talking about a feminine noun like questa mappa (this map), it would still be utile.

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