Question 1

Why does the Italian use sempre meno to mean "less and less"?

Accepted Answer

In English, we express a progressive change by repeating the comparative word ("less and less", "more and more"). Italian does this by pairing sempre with the comparative word. So, "less and less" is sempre meno, and "more and more" is sempre più.

Question 2

Does sempre still mean "always" in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Literally, yes! The phrase translates word-for-word as "always less popular." However, in natural English, we translate this specific grammatical structure (sempre + comparative) as a continuous trend rather than a literal "always."

Question 3

Since queste macchine is feminine plural, why doesn't the adjective popolari end in -e?

Accepted Answer

Adjectives that end in -e in the singular (like popolare) change their ending to -i in the plural for both masculine and feminine nouns. Since the singular is la macchina popolare, the plural becomes le macchine popolari.

Question 4

If I wanted to say "those cars" instead of "these cars," how would that change queste?

Accepted Answer

To say "these," you use a form of questo, which here is queste to match the feminine plural macchine. To say "those," you would use a form of quello, which would become quelle (so, quelle macchine).

Oggi queste macchine sono sempre meno popolari.

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