ELONIO
Log inSign up

La serra, il cui vetro è rotto, è chiusa.

La serra, il cui vetro è rotto, è chiusa.
The greenhouse, whose glass is broken, is closed.
From Lesson 291:Relative possessives (il cui, la cui, i cui, le cui)·Italian

Questions & Answers about La serra, il cui vetro è rotto, è chiusa.

Why do we use il cui when la serra (the greenhouse) is feminine?
When using cui to mean "whose", the article before it must agree with the thing being possessed, not the owner. Since vetro (glass) is masculine singular, we use il cui. The gender of the owner (la serra) doesn't affect the article here.
Does the word cui itself ever change endings to match the noun?
No, cui is completely invariable. It never changes its ending based on gender or number. Only the definite article right before it changes to match the possessed noun (il cui, la cui, i cui, le cui).
Why does this sentence use both rotto (masculine) and chiusa (feminine)?
Because they describe two different things! Rotto (broken) describes il vetro (the masculine glass) inside the relative clause. Chiusa (closed) belongs to the main sentence and describes la serra (the feminine greenhouse). If you remove the "whose" clause, the main sentence is simply: La serra è chiusa.
Could I say di cui instead of il cui to mean whose?
You could, but it changes the word order. Il cui vetro translates neatly to "whose glass". If you use di cui (of which), the possessed noun has to come first: il vetro di cui (the glass of which). Using the il cui + [noun] format is the standard, natural way to express "whose" in Italian.

Learn La serra, il cui vetro è rotto, è chiusa 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
Start learning Italian →