Question 1

Why do the adjectives simili and uguali end in -i when borse is a feminine noun?

Accepted Answer

In Italian, adjectives that end in -e in the singular (like simile and uguale) don't have separate masculine and feminine forms. They just change to -i for the plural. Since borse is plural, the adjectives become simili and uguali.

Question 2

Since the current lesson is about comparatives of equality (così... come), why aren't we using those words here?

Accepted Answer

This sentence expresses the idea of equality directly through vocabulary (simili and uguali) rather than a grammatical structure. We use così... come when comparing a specific quality between two things (like 'as big as'). Here, we are just stating whether the two items themselves are identical.

Question 3

Does uguali mean 'equal' or 'identical'?

Accepted Answer

It means both! While it is the word for 'equal' in mathematics, in everyday Italian, uguale is the most common way to say that two things are 'identical' or 'exactly the same.'

Question 4

Why isn't there a verb before uguali?

Accepted Answer

You are allowed to include it and say ma non sono uguali (but they are not identical). However, just like in English, we often drop the second verb in a sentence to avoid repeating ourselves.

Le due borse sono simili, ma non uguali.

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