Log inSign up

Preferisco comprare lo skipass che noleggiare quello del fine settimana.

Preferisco comprare lo skipass che noleggiare quello del fine settimana.
I prefer to buy the ski pass than to rent the weekend one.
From Lesson 287:Demonstrative pronouns of possession (quello di, quella di)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Preferisco comprare lo skipass che noleggiare quello del fine settimana.

Why do we use quello del instead of just repeating the noun?
To avoid repeating a noun, Italian uses a demonstrative pronoun (quello, quella, quelli, or quelle) followed by di (or its combined forms). Here, quello del fine settimana literally means 'that of the weekend' and perfectly replaces lo skipass del fine settimana.
Why does the sentence use che for 'than' instead of di?
When you compare two verbs (like the infinitives comprare and noleggiare), Italian uses che for 'than'. You generally use di when comparing quantities or when comparing nouns and pronouns.
Why is the article lo used in lo skipass instead of il?
Even though it is an English loanword, Italian grammar rules still apply. Masculine nouns starting with an 's' followed by another consonant (here, an 's' followed by a 'k' sound) always take the article lo.
Is fine settimana masculine or feminine, and how does that affect the word del?
The phrase il fine settimana (the weekend) is treated as a masculine noun. Because we are using the 'quello di' structure, the preposition di combines with the article il to create the articulated preposition del.

Learn Preferisco comprare lo skipass che noleggiare quello del fine settimana 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 →