English Translation
This box is twice as large as that one.
Why not " … la doppia …"."
“Doppio” can be declined like in “la doppia lotta”. Does it not exist without a noun following?
2 Likes
@anon94972132 That’s a very good point. “Grande il doppio” means “twice as big as”, whereas it could be that “grande la doppia” means “double the size”.
Be interesting to know more. Just my 10c…
1 Like
Uhm, interesting question.
In English “this box is large the double of that one” is broken, but in Italian it is perfectly grammatical, and a common comparative sentence.
“Doppio” is an adjective, but it can also be used as a name as in this case: you can see the article before it (“il doppio”) and the preposition “di” that connects it to the pronoun “quella”. As an independent name it does not have to agree with “scatola”. It would be wrong to do that, actually.
You can use “doppia” as a name, for example to indicate a “double consonant”, or, if you are traveling, a room that accommodates two.
@Floria, “grande la doppia” does not work, sorry!
3 Likes
Many thanks as always @mike-lima. Mi dispiace, I was just summising with “la doppia”, a suggestion from a well-known translator. Had the feeling it wouldnt work.
1 Like
Once again many thanks, also for the clarification of “doppia” in a hotel which I sofar understood not as a name in itself but as short for “camera doppia”, an adjective with an “noun in mind”.
In the sentence above you cannot add another “scatola”, so it is not a “noun in mind”.
However, I do not understand it completely. Let’s imagine a short dialog:
“Oggi devi pagare 20 €.” 20€! È la tariffa normale?" “No, oggi è il doppio /la tariffa doppia / la doppia.”
So, the first two answers are correct, and the third (with the “noun in mind”) is wrong?
Maybe I am confused because in German, all three would be possible:
“Nein, es ist heute das Doppelte” - with the capital letter because it is a noun
or
“Nein, es ist heute der doppelte (Tarif)” - with or without “Tarif”.
2 Likes
Yes, that is indeed how it originated, but it is frequent enough that in context it is understood by everyone.
“Oggi è il doppio” is correct
“Oggi è la tariffa doppia” does not work but it is close: you can use either: “Oggi c’è la tariffa doppia” or “Oggi la tariffa è doppia” (I prefer the latter), in both cases, “doppia” is an adjective
“Oggi è la doppia” does not work, but you just need to drop the “la” “Oggi è doppia” to make an implicit refererence to “tariffa” again, making it an adjective.
If I had to guess, I would understand “doppia tariffa” or “tariffa doppia” as if there were two distinct fees, depending on some condition.
It is interesting how German name capitalization rule helps understanding the role of the word.
3 Likes