Breakdown of Abbiamo due casseforti al pianterreno.
avere
to have
due
two
a
to / at
il pianterreno
ground floor
la cassaforte
safe (strongbox)
Questions & Answers about Abbiamo due casseforti al pianterreno.
Why is the plural of cassaforte casseforti and not cassaforti?
Cassaforte is a compound noun made of a feminine noun (cassa, meaning box) and an adjective (forte, meaning strong). The rule for compound nouns made of a noun + adjective is that both parts usually change in the plural. So, cassa becomes casse and forte becomes forti, giving us casseforti.
Pianterreno looks like a compound noun too. How would I make it plural?
Good eye! It is made from piano (floor) and terreno (ground). Even though it is also a noun + adjective, the two words have completely fused together into a single word, dropping the 'o' of piano. Because it is fully fused, it acts like a normal masculine noun and only changes its final letter, making the plural pianterreni.
How do I know if cassaforte is masculine or feminine?
It is feminine (la cassaforte). For most compound nouns, the gender is determined by the head noun (the core thing it describes). Since a safe is a type of cassa (which is feminine), the combined word stays feminine.
Why do we say al pianterreno instead of using su (on)?
While English says 'on the ground floor', Italian uses the preposition a (at/to) for floors of a building. Combined with the definite article il, it becomes al. Using sul (on the) would sound like you are physically standing on top of the entire floor's structure rather than just being located there.
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