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Questions & Answers about Tutte le finestre sono aperte.
Why is it tutte and not tutti?
The word tutto (“all”) behaves like an adjective and must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies. Since finestre is feminine plural, you use the feminine-plural form tutte.
Why do we say le finestre instead of just finestre?
Italian normally requires a definite article before plural, countable nouns in a full sentence. Here le is the feminine plural article (the), so le finestre = “the windows.” English often drops “the” in generic statements, but Italian keeps it.
Could I say Le finestre sono tutte aperte?
Yes. You can place tutte after the verb to stress that all of the windows are open. Both orders are correct:
- Tutte le finestre sono aperte.
- Le finestre sono tutte aperte.
Why is the verb essere used here, not stare?
To describe a state or condition (windows being open), Italian uses the copula essere. While southern or colloquial Italian sometimes uses stare with adjectives, the standard choice for “they are open” is sono aperte.
Why does aperte end in “-e”?
Aperto is the past participle of aprire, but when it describes the state of a feminine plural noun, it acts like an adjective and agrees in gender and number: finestre (feminine plural) → aperte.
Is aperte here a past participle or an adjective?
It’s functioning as an adjective. Clues:
• It agrees with the noun (fem. pl.).
• It follows essere to describe a condition, not to form a compound tense.
What about Tutte le finestre si aprono?
That uses the reflexive/impersonal form of aprire (“open”), meaning “all the windows open” (e.g. automatically or generally), not “are open” right now. It describes an action, not a state.
Can I drop tutte or le and just say Finestre aperte?
In headlines, notes or signs, you might write Finestre aperte (“Windows open”). In a full, grammatical sentence you’d keep both for clarity: Tutte le finestre sono aperte.