Question 1

Why do we use peggio here instead of più male?

Accepted Answer

Peggio is the irregular comparative adverb meaning "worse", which comes from male (badly). Just like in English where we say "worse" instead of "more badly", Italian uses peggio instead of più male. Here, it describes how he uses (usa) the deck.

Question 2

Why does the sentence use di me for "than me", instead of che me?

Accepted Answer

When comparing two nouns or pronouns to each other, you generally use di for "than". Because the comparison here is between him (lui) and me (me), di is the correct choice. You generally only use che when comparing two qualities (like two adjectives or verbs) of the same subject, or comparing nouns with a preposition.

Question 3

Could I say di mi instead of di me?

Accepted Answer

No. After a preposition like di (or per, con, da), you must use a stressed (tonic) pronoun. The stressed pronoun for "me" is me. The pronoun mi is unstressed and can only come right before a verb or attached to the end of one.

Question 4

I learned that mazzo means a "bunch" or "bouquet". Why is it translated as "deck" here?

Accepted Answer

Mazzo refers to a bundled pack or collection of things. While you will often see un mazzo di fiori (a bouquet of flowers) or un mazzo di chiavi (a bunch of keys), the second half of the sentence about guessing the score (il punteggio) provides context. In gaming, il mazzo refers to a deck of cards (un mazzo di carte).

Lui usa il mazzo peggio di me e non indovina il punteggio.

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