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Le orchidee sbocciano spesso, ma i loro petali sono delicati.

Le orchidee sbocciano spesso, ma i loro petali sono delicati.
Orchids often bloom, but their petals are delicate.
From Lesson 291:Relative possessives (il cui, la cui, i cui, le cui)·Italian

Breakdown of Le orchidee sbocciano spesso, ma i loro petali sono delicati.

essere
to be
ma
but
loro
their
spesso
often
delicato
delicate
l'orchidea
the orchid
il petalo
the petal
sbocciare
to bloom

Questions & Answers about Le orchidee sbocciano spesso, ma i loro petali sono delicati.

Why does this sentence use i loro instead of i cui if this lesson is about relative possessive pronouns?
I cui translates to "whose" and is used to introduce a dependent relative clause (like "The orchids whose petals are delicate"). Because this sentence uses ma (but) to start a brand new independent clause, we use the regular possessive i loro (their).
Why is the plural of orchid spelled orchidee with a double E?
The singular word is l'orchidea. Like most feminine nouns ending in -a, the plural changes the ending to -e. Because the stem already ends in an E (orchide-), the resulting plural has two E's: le orchidee.
Why is there an i before loro petali?
In Italian, you almost always need a definite article (like il, la, or i) before a possessive adjective. Since petali is masculine plural, it requires i, making the phrase literally "the their petals".
What is the base verb for sbocciano?
The infinitive is sbocciare, which means "to bloom" or "to blossom". It is a regular -are verb, so sbocciano is simply the present tense "they" form.

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