ELONIO
Log inSign up

Questi orologi digitali costano sempre meno.

Questi orologi digitali costano sempre meno.
These digital watches cost less and less.
From Lesson 174:Progressive degree (sempre più, sempre meno)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Questi orologi digitali costano sempre meno.

How does sempre meno translate to "less and less"? Doesn't sempre mean "always"?
Yes, sempre on its own means "always". However, when paired with più (more) or meno (less), it describes an ongoing, progressive change. While it literally translates to "always less", the natural English equivalent is "less and less" or "increasingly less".
Why is it questi orologi instead of dropping the vowel to make quest'orologi?
In modern Italian, the plural demonstrative questi (these) does not drop its final vowel, even when the next word starts with a vowel. You only use the apostrophe in the singular (quest'orologio).
If I wanted to say "those watches", would it be quelli orologi?
No, it would be quegli orologi. Remember that while questo always becomes questi in the plural, quello changes its ending based on the definite article. Since "the watches" is gli orologi, "those watches" must be quegli orologi.
Because orologi digitali is plural, shouldn't meno change to match?
No, because meno is not describing the watches here. It is an adverb describing the verb costano (how much they cost). Adverbs are invariable, meaning their endings never change for gender or number.

Learn Questi orologi digitali costano sempre meno and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Italian →