Breakdown of Questi centrotavola sono molto belli.
essere
to be
bello
beautiful
molto
very
questi
these (masculine)
il centrotavola
the centerpiece
Questions & Answers about Questi centrotavola sono molto belli.
Why is the plural of centrotavola exactly the same as the singular?
Centrotavola is a compound noun made of two words: centro and tavola. As a general rule in Italian, compound nouns formed by centro plus another noun are invariable, meaning their endings do not change in the plural. You can tell the word is plural here because of the surrounding plural words questi, sono, and belli.
Since tavola is feminine, why are we using the masculine words questi and belli?
The gender of a compound noun usually comes from its primary word. In this case, the primary word is centro, which is masculine. Because centro is masculine, the entire compound noun centrotavola is masculine. That is why it takes the masculine plural modifiers questi and belli, even though it ends with the feminine word tavola.
Why doesn't molto change to molti to match the rest of the plural sentence?
Learn Questi centrotavola sono molto belli 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