Breakdown of L'affidabilità per noi è importantissima; non compriamo mai un'auto qualsiasi.
essere
to be
un
a / an (masculine)
non
not
noi
we
importante
important
comprare
to buy
per
for / in order to / because of
mai
ever / never
l'auto
the car (= la macchina) (f)
qualsiasi
any
l'affidabilità
the reliability (f)
Questions & Answers about L'affidabilità per noi è importantissima; non compriamo mai un'auto qualsiasi.
Why is qualsiasi placed after un'auto instead of before it?
Why does un'auto have an apostrophe if auto ends in an "o"?
Even though it ends in "o", auto is short for automobile, which is a feminine noun. The feminine indefinite article una drops its final "a" and takes an apostrophe before a noun starting with a vowel, creating un'auto.
Could I say molto importante instead of importantissima?
Yes, both mean "very important." However, adding the absolute superlative suffix -issimo is an extremely common way to express a high degree of something in Italian. Remember that it must agree in gender and number with the noun it describes, which is why it ends in -a here to match the feminine noun l'affidabilità.
Why do we use both non and mai in the second clause?
Italian uses a double negative structure when negative words like mai (never) are placed after the verb. Because mai follows compriamo, you must put non before the verb. If you started the phrase with mai, you would drop the non (e.g., mai compriamo), though that sounds much more poetic or emphatic.
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