Question 1

Why do we use "gli" instead of "i" for the plural "the" here?

Accepted Answer

Gli is the special masculine plural article used for words that start with a vowel, like uffici. If the noun started with most regular consonants, you would use i (for example, i libri for "the books").

Question 2

What is the singular form of "uffici", and why doesn't it end in a double "i"?

Accepted Answer

The singular is ufficio (office). When a masculine word ends in -io, the plural form doesn't add a second "i". It just drops the final -o to leave a single -i. That is why it is spelled uffici and not "ufficii".

Question 3

Why does "grandi" end in "-i"? Shouldn't masculine plurals come from words ending in "-o"?

Accepted Answer

The singular form is grande (big). While many adjectives end in -o or -a, adjectives that end in -e in the singular belong to a different group. They always change to -i in the plural, regardless of whether the noun they describe is masculine or feminine.

Question 4

Since everything else is plural, why didn't "molto" change to "molti"?

Accepted Answer

In this sentence, molto means "very" and is describing the adjective moderni. When it is used this way (as an adverb), its ending never changes. It would only change to molti if it meant "many" and was describing a noun, like in molti uffici (many offices).

Gli uffici grandi sono molto moderni.

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