Question 1

The English translation says "figures", but the Italian is dati. Could I use the Italian word figure instead?

Accepted Answer

No, because it is a "false friend." In Italian, figure refers to geometric shapes, book illustrations, or physical silhouettes. When you are talking about numerical data, statistics, or mathematical figures, you must use dati (data).

Question 2

How does the word preoccupante get the meaning of "worrying"?

Accepted Answer

It comes from the verb preoccupare (to worry). By replacing the -are verb ending with -ante, it becomes an adjective that describes a noun causing an action. Words ending in -ante or -ente in Italian often translate perfectly to English adjectives ending in "-ing".

Question 3

Why is there an I before tuoi dati? Don't we just say "your figures"?

Accepted Answer

As a quick refresher: Italian possessives like tuoi almost always need a definite article (like i, il, or la) right in front of them. The main exception is when you are talking about singular, close family members (like mio padre). For regular nouns like dati, the article is strictly required.

Question 4

Percentuale and preoccupante both end in -e. How do we know their gender here?

Accepted Answer

Percentuale is a feminine noun, which we can spot immediately because it is introduced by the feminine article una. Adjectives that end in -e in their singular form, like preoccupante, are identical for both masculine and feminine nouns, so it doesn't need an -a ending to match.

I tuoi dati mostrano una percentuale preoccupante.

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