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Lei ha le orecchie grandi e le labbra rosse.

Lei ha le orecchie grandi e le labbra rosse.
She has big ears and red lips.
From Lesson 136:Irregular noun plurals (le mani, gli uomini)·Italian

Breakdown of Lei ha le orecchie grandi e le labbra rosse.

lei
she
e
and
grande
big
rosso
red
avere
to have
l'orecchio
the ear (m)
il labbro
the lip

Questions & Answers about Lei ha le orecchie grandi e le labbra rosse.

Why does labbra end in -a if it uses the plural article le?
Labbro (lip) is one of several body parts in Italian that have a highly irregular plural. In the singular, it is masculine (il labbro). But in the plural, it becomes feminine and ends in -a: le labbra.
Since labbra comes from a masculine singular word, should the adjective describing it be masculine or feminine?
It must be feminine! When words like il labbro change to the feminine plural le labbra, they act completely feminine. That is why the adjective for red is rosse (feminine plural) to match le labbra, rather than the masculine rossi.
Is orecchie (ears) also an irregular plural?
Yes! The singular word for ear is masculine: l'orecchio. However, its plural form becomes feminine and changes its ending to -e, giving us le orecchie. Several body parts follow this masculine-to-feminine pattern.
If orecchie is a feminine plural noun, why doesn't the adjective grandi end in -e?
The dictionary form of this adjective is grande (big). Adjectives that end in -e in the singular are used for both masculine and feminine words. When making them plural, their ending always changes to -i. So, grandi is the correct plural form for both masculine and feminine nouns.

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