Learn Italian: Potresti distinguere tutte e due le sorelle?

Potresti distinguere tutte e due le sorelle?

Could you distinguish both sisters?

Breakdown of Potresti distinguere tutte e due le sorelle?

Questions & Answers about Potresti distinguere tutte e due le sorelle?

Why does this sentence use tutte e due instead of tutti e due?

The quantifier must agree in gender with the noun it describes. Since sorelle (sisters) is feminine, tutti changes to the feminine plural tutte. The number due stays exactly the same!

Why is the article le required in tutte e due le sorelle? In English we just say "both sisters".

In Italian, the expression tutti e due (or tutte e due) must always be followed by a definite article when a noun comes directly after it. You literally have to say "both the sisters".

How would this sentence change if I used entrambe to mean "both" instead?

You would swap out tutte e due entirely and say: Potresti distinguere entrambe le sorelle? Just like tutte e due, the word entrambe requires you to keep the definite article (le) before the noun.

Why use potresti here instead of the present tense puoi?

Potresti is the conditional tense, meaning "Could you?" or "Would you be able to?". While puoi ("Can you?") would also be grammatically correct, using the conditional makes the question sound a bit softer, more polite, or more hypothetical.