Learn Italian: La nuova scrivania regolabile è davvero comoda. - The new adjustable desk is really comfortable.

It is built from the verb regolare (to adjust or regulate) and the suffix -bile. This suffix works exactly like the English "-able" or "-ible", turning an action verb into an adjective that means "capable of being [verb]ed".

Is there a rule for whether to use -abile or -ibile when forming these words?

Yes! The vowel depends on the infinitive ending of the base verb. Verbs ending in -are (like regolare) form adjectives ending in -abile. Verbs ending in -ere or -ire generally take -ibile (for example, leggere becomes leggibile).

Why is nuova placed before the noun, but regolabile is placed after?

Common, descriptive adjectives like nuovo, vecchio, or bello often go before the noun to show an inherent quality or to sound more natural. However, categorizing or technical adjectives—like regolabile—must go after the noun because they define a specific, objective class of the object.

Besides "comfortable", does comoda have any other common meanings at this level?

Yes! While it translates to "comfortable" here (physically comfortable to work at), comodo is also the standard Italian word for "convenient", "practical", or "handy". An Italian might call a feature on a desk molto comoda simply because it is useful and makes a task easier.