Learn Italian: Ripetete tutti i vecchi sbagli! - You repeat all the old mistakes!

Ripetete tutti i vecchi sbagli!

You repeat all the old mistakes!

Breakdown of Ripetete tutti i vecchi sbagli!

Questions & Answers about Ripetete tutti i vecchi sbagli!

Could I use ogni here instead of tutti i?

Not with the plural noun sbagli. Ogni (every/each) is only ever followed by a singular noun, so you would have to say ogni vecchio sbaglio (every old mistake). Because this sentence talks about plural mistakes, you have to use tutti i (all the).

Why are the plurals of vecchio and sbaglio spelled vecchi and sbagli instead of vecchii and sbaglii?

When a masculine word ends in -io, you usually just drop the final -o to make it plural, rather than adding an extra i. You only write a double i if the stress of the word falls on the i in the singular form, like in zio (uncle) which becomes zii.

Why does the adjective vecchi come before the noun sbagli?

While most Italian adjectives go after the noun, a few common ones like vecchio (old), nuovo (new), bello (beautiful), and bravo (good) frequently come before it. Putting it before the noun can also add emotional emphasis, showing frustration with these repetitive mistakes.

How do we know who is doing the repeating in this sentence?