ELONIO
Log inSign up

Hai imballato le cose fragili?

Hai imballato le cose fragili?
Did you pack the fragile things?
From Lesson 151:Past agreement with 'ne' (ne ho presi)·Italian

Breakdown of Hai imballato le cose fragili?

avere
to have
la cosa
thing
imballare
to pack
fragile
fragile

Questions & Answers about Hai imballato le cose fragili?

Why does imballato end in -o instead of agreeing with the feminine plural le cose?
In the passato prossimo with the helping verb avere, the past participle (imballato) normally stays in its default -o form. It only changes to match the object if you put certain pronouns before the verb, like direct object pronouns or the partitive pronoun ne.
Since this lesson is about the pronoun ne, how would I answer 'Yes, I packed two of them'?
You would say 'Sì, ne ho imballate due.' Because you used ne to replace 'of the fragile things' (which is feminine plural) and specified a quantity, the past participle must agree with the items you are counting. Therefore, imballato changes to imballate.
Why does the adjective fragili end in -i when le cose is feminine plural?
The word fragile belongs to a group of adjectives that end in -e in the singular for both masculine and feminine nouns. When these adjectives become plural, their ending always changes to -i. So, la cosa fragile (the fragile thing) becomes le cose fragili (the fragile things).
Can I use imballare to talk about packing my suitcase for a holiday?
No, imballare specifically means to pack, box up, or wrap items, usually for moving or shipping. If you are packing luggage for a trip, you should use the phrase fare le valigie.

Learn Hai imballato le cose fragili and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Italian →