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Vorrei gli indici e gli elenchi prima che l'editore arrivi.

Vorrei gli indici e gli elenchi prima che l'editore arrivi.
I would like the indexes and the lists before the publisher arrives.
From Lesson 239:Masculine noun plurals in -co and -go (-chi, -ghi, -ci, -gi)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Vorrei gli indici e gli elenchi prima che l'editore arrivi.

Why is there an 'h' in elenchi?
Elenchi is the plural of the masculine noun elenco (list). For masculine nouns ending in -co, if the spoken stress falls on the second-to-last syllable (e-LÉN-co), the plural usually adds an 'h' to become -chi. This keeps the hard "k" sound of the singular word intact.
Why doesn't indici have an 'h' to become indichi?
Because its singular form doesn't end in -co! The singular is indice (index), which ends in -e. Nouns ending in -e simply change their ending to -i in the plural, giving us indici with a soft "ch" sound.
Why is the verb at the end arrivi instead of the regular present tense arriva?
The conjunction prima che (before) expresses anticipation of an event that hasn't happened yet, so it always triggers the subjunctive mood. Arrivi is the present subjunctive of arrivare for he/she/it.
Just to review, why do both nouns use the article gli?
Both indici and elenchi are masculine plural nouns that start with a vowel. The masculine plural article for words starting with a vowel is always gli instead of i.

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