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Tutti i test confermano che gli smartphone funzionano.

Tutti i test confermano che gli smartphone funzionano.
All the tests confirm that the smartphones work.
From Lesson 253:Invariable plurals for foreign nouns (i bar, i computer)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Tutti i test confermano che gli smartphone funzionano.

Why doesn't test change its ending in the plural?
In Italian, foreign loanwords that end in a consonant, like test, are invariable. This means their form doesn't change when pluralized. You just change the article to show there is more than one, so il test becomes i test.
Does smartphone follow the same rule, even though it ends in an "e"?
Yes! Even though smartphone technically ends in a vowel, Italian treats most modern English loanwords as invariable. A common mistake is adding an English "s" to the end, but in Italian it remains the same: lo smartphone (singular) becomes gli smartphone (plural).
Both test and smartphone are plural masculine nouns here. Why does one use the article i and the other uses gli?
It depends on the starting letters of the noun! Test starts with a normal consonant (t), which takes the standard plural article i. Smartphone starts with an "s" followed by another consonant (s + m). Masculine nouns starting with "s + consonant" always take lo in the singular and gli in the plural.
Why do we say tutti i test instead of just tutti test?
In Italian, when you use tutto or tutti to mean "all", you almost always must include the definite article right after it. While in English you can say "all tests", Italian requires the equivalent of "all the tests" (tutti i test).
Could I use lavorano instead of funzionano for the smartphones working?
No. Lavorare is only used for people or animals doing labor or doing a job. When talking about machines, electronics, or systems "working" (meaning they operate correctly), you must use funzionare, which literally translates to "to function".

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