Italian All-in-One For Dummies (110 page)

The mathematical qualifiers
pari
(
even
) and
dispari
(
odd
)

Adjectives taken from other languages:
snob
(
snobbish
),
chic
(
chic
),
trendy
(
trendy
), and
bordeaux
(
burgundy
)

Associating One Adjective with More Than One Noun

An adjective may refer to more than one person or thing, in three ways:

With a plural noun (or name or pronoun), as in
Le suore sono silenziose
(
The nuns are quiet
)

With two separate nouns of different genders, as in
Le piante e gli animali sono utili
(
Plants and animals are useful
)

With one adjective referring to two different things that are singular and share the same gender, as in
Il professore parla di letteratura e storia tedesca
(
The professor is talking about German literature and history
)

You need to decide the adjective's gender and number so it matches the noun. Follow these guidelines:

If you have one plural subject, the adjective should be in the plural and match the noun in gender (as explained earlier in this chapter). For example,
I miei fratelli sono bassi
(
My brothers are short
);
Le mie sorelle sono basse
(
My sisters are short
).

If you have a masculine noun and a feminine noun, you choose the masculine plural adjective. For example,
Pietro e Luciana sono bassi
(
Pietro and Luciana are short
).

If you don't know the gender, use the masculine. For example, [
Loro] Sono giovani
(
They are young
).

If you have one adjective referring to two singular nouns of the same gender, choose the singular form of the adjective in the gender that matches the nouns. For example, in the following sentence,
romana
(
Roman
) matches the gender of the nouns
pittura
(
painting
) and
scultura
(
sculpture
):
Bianca
è un'esperta di pittura e scultura romana
(
Bianca is an expert of Roman painting and sculpture
).

Putting Adjectives in Their Place

In English, you place adjectives after verbs that indicate a status or a condition, such as
to be
or
to feel,
as you do in Italian; for example,
Gina è contenta
(
Gina is happy
). When you attach an adjective to a noun, though, in English you place it before the noun to which it refers, as in
a blue sky.
In Italian, you usually do the opposite, as in
Hanno scritto dei libri importanti
(
They've written important books
).

However, you place some commonly used adjectives before the noun. For example, you say
Hanno una bella casa
(
They have a beautiful house
), even though everyone will understand you if you say
Hanno una casa bella.
The next section provides a list of the most important adjectives that take this placement.