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Grammar Lesson 94:

Quanto: adjective, pronoun and adverb

Quanto is an adjective and pronoun - sometimes also used as an adverb - which indicates the quantity - size, measure, length - of single elements or categories of persons, animals or things.

	Singular	Plural	Meaning
Masculine	quanto	quanti	how much, how many, as
Feminine	quanta	quante	how much, how many, as

Quanto can function as a relative adjective / pronoun to link a subordinate clause to a main clause. In that case it replaces the phrase "all that / all those", "all the …".

In this usage it is often accompanied by the indefinite invariable adjective / pronoun / adverb tanto.

Examples:

- Anna mi ha procurato quanto richiesto. (Anna provided me with what I requested.) —> pronoun

- Puoi restare quanti giorni vuoi. (You can crush here as long as you like.) —> adj.

- In centro c'era tanta gente, quanta non ne avevo mai vista. (In the city centre there was as many people as I had never seen before.)

Used in questions - both direct and indirect - quanto functions as an interrogative adjective / pronoun:

- Quanta fame hai? (How hungry are you?)

- Dimmi quanti libri hai letto quest'estate. (Tell me how many books you did read last Summer.)

- Non so quanti verranno stasera. (I don't know how many people will be joining us tonight.)

It can be preceded by a preposition:

- Per quanti giorni conti di fermarti? (For how many days do you intend to stay?)

- Da quanto abiti a Firenze? (How long have you been living in Florence?)

Note that quanto in the singular (both in the masculine and feminine form) can elide when preceding a word which starts with a vowel or an h. In the plural the elision is not admitted:

- Quant'uva hai mangiato? (How many grapes did you eat?)

- Quante amiche avevi da bambina? (How many friends did you have as a child?)

As an indefinite pronoun - in the masculine plural - it means "tutti coloro che" and translates as "all those who":

- Quanti l'hanno conosciuto ricorderanno sempre il suo sorriso luminoso. (All those who knew him will always remember his bright smile.)

Exclamatory adjective / pronoun:

Quanta gente! (What a lot of people!) —> adj.

Quanto sono contento di rivederti! (How happy I am to see you again!)

As an adverb, quanto is invariable. It is used in questions, exclamations and comparative sentences:

- Quanto costa? (How much is it?)

- Dimmi quanto Anna ha pagato quel quadro. (Tell me how much Anna paid for that painting.)

- Se tu sapessi quanto mi manchi! (If you only knew how much I miss you!)

- Quant'è stupido! (How stupid he is!)

- Sono intelligente quanto te. (I'm as smart as you are.)

- Anna è intelligente quanto bella. (Anna is just as intelligente as she is pretty.)

- Quanto più mangi, tanto più ingrassi. (The more you eat, the fatter you get.)

Note that "in quanto" means "because" or "as":

- Non ti ho cercato in quanto pensavo fossi arrabbiato con me. (I didn't look for you as I thought you were angry at me.)

- In quanto scrittore non sopporto le ripetizioni. (As a writer I dislike repetitions.)

Note that "(in) quanto a" translates as "as for", "concerning / regarding":

- (In) quanto a chiamarlo, non se ne parla! (As for calling him, in your dreams!)

- Quanto a me, sono felice di essere qui. (As for me, I'm happy to be here.)

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