Breakdown of Sei stufo di lavare questa tovaglia bianca?
essere
to be
questo
this (masculine)
lavare
to wash
di
to (linking a verb to a following infinitive)
bianco
white
la tovaglia
tablecloth
stufo
sick (of) / fed up
Questions & Answers about Sei stufo di lavare questa tovaglia bianca?
Why is di used before lavare instead of a?
In Italian, certain adjectives require a specific preposition before an infinitive verb. The adjective stufo (fed up / sick of) always takes di. There is no universal rule for whether an adjective takes a or di, so it is best to memorize combinations like stufo di as a single chunk of vocabulary.
If I am asking a woman this question, does stufo change to stufa?
Could I use stanco instead of stufo here?
You could, and you would still say stanco di lavare, but it changes the tone slightly. Stufo is more emphatic and colloquial, meaning "fed up" or "sick and tired," whereas stanco simply means "tired."
Why does questa go before the noun but bianca goes after?
Demonstrative adjectives like questa (this) point something out and must always come before the noun they modify. Descriptive adjectives, especially objective ones like colors (bianca), almost always follow the noun in Italian.
Learn Sei stufo di lavare questa tovaglia bianca 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