Questa sedia non è abbastanza comoda per studiare a lungo.

to be

Breakdown of Questa sedia non è abbastanza comoda per studiare a lungo.

• la sedia: the chair
• lungo: long
• per: for

Questions & Answers about Questa sedia non è abbastanza comoda per studiare a lungo.

Why does the sentence use è (the verb to be) to talk about how comfortable the chair is, instead of ha (the verb to have)?

In Italian, comfort or other qualities are typically described with the verb essere (to be). So you say la sedia è comoda to express “the chair is comfortable,” rather than using ha (“to have”).

What does abbastanza mean here, and can it be replaced with a different word?

Abbastanza means “enough” or “sufficiently.” In this sentence, it indicates that the chair’s comfort level is not high enough to study for a long time. You could also use sufficientemente, though it might sound more formal, like non è sufficientemente comoda per studiare a lungo.

Why is the adjective comoda ending in -a?

In Italian, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Sedia is feminine singular, so the adjective comodo must end in -a to match it, becoming comoda.

Why is the phrase per studiare a lungo used to convey “to study for a long time”?

Per + infinitive is a common way to express purpose in Italian, similar to saying “in order to” in English. A lungo literally means “at length” or “for a long time.” Together, per studiare a lungo tells us the purpose (studying) and the duration (a long time).