Learn Italian: Il ristorante ha novanta posti liberi. - The restaurant has ninety free seats.

Il ristorante ha novanta posti liberi.

The restaurant has ninety free seats.

Breakdown of Il ristorante ha novanta posti liberi.

Questions & Answers about Il ristorante ha novanta posti liberi.

Does novanta change its ending because posti is plural?

No. In Italian, numbers from two upwards are invariable, meaning they never change to match the gender or number of the noun. So whether you are talking about masculine posti (seats) or feminine persone (people), novanta stays exactly the same.

Is there a trick to remembering the word novanta?

Yes! It comes from nove (nine). When learning numbers from 40 to 90, you will notice they all end in -anta (like quaranta, cinquanta, sessanta). If you know your single digits, you can usually guess the tens!

Does the word posti specifically mean "seats"?

In a restaurant, theater, or train, yes. However, the singular word posto generally means "place" or "spot". You will also see it used for parking spots or even job positions!

Why is the adjective liberi placed after the noun?

In Italian, descriptive adjectives usually come after the noun they describe, unlike in English where they come before. It is posti liberi (seats free) instead of "free seats". Also, notice that libero changes its ending to liberi to match the masculine plural noun posti.