La fune è resistente.

The rope is sturdy.

Breakdown of La fune è resistente.

• essere: to be
• la fune: the rope
• resistente: sturdy

Questions & Answers about La fune è resistente.

Why is fune feminine? Why not il fune?

In Italian, nouns ending in -e can be either masculine or feminine—you have to learn each noun’s gender. Fune is one of the exceptions that is feminine, so it takes la in the singular and le in the plural (le funi).

How do you pronounce fune and resistente, and where is the stress?

• fune: ['fu.ne] – stress on the first syllable, “FU-ne.”
• resistente: [re.ziˈsten.te] – stress on the third syllable, “re-si-STEN-te.”

Why does resistente end in -e when it describes a feminine noun? Shouldn’t adjectives agree with gender?

Adjectives ending in -e have just two forms in Italian:
• Singular (-e) for both masculine and feminine (e.g., il filo è resistente, la fune è resistente)
• Plural (-i) for both genders (e.g., i fili sono resistenti, le funi sono resistenti)

What would the plural version of La fune è resistente be?

It becomes Le funi sono resistenti.
• La fune → Le funi
• è (3rd-person singular of essere) → sono (3rd-person plural)
• resistente → resistenti

Is resistente the present participle of the verb resistere, or is it just an adjective?

Although resistente looks like the present participle of resistere, in modern Italian it’s used only as an adjective meaning “strong,” “durable,” or “tough.” Italian doesn’t use the present participle in the same way English does.

What are some synonyms of resistente and when might you use them?

• robusto – for something solidly built (e.g., un tavolo robusto)
• durevole – emphasizes longevity (e.g., un orologio durevole)
• solido – stresses solidity (e.g., un muro solido)
Choose resistente when you mean “able to withstand stress or pressure.”

Can resistente describe people or only objects?

You can describe a person with resistente to mean they endure hardship well (e.g., Lui è molto resistente alla fatica – “He’s very resistant to fatigue”). It’s common in contexts like sports or military training.

Are there any prepositions needed with resistente? For example, resistente a?

Yes, when specifying what it resists, use a. For instance:
• La fune è resistente alla trazione (“The rope is resistant to tension”)
• Questo tessuto è resistente all’acqua (“This fabric is water-resistant”)