Breakdown of È questo ingrediente che rende la scatola mangiabile.
essere
to be
questo
this (masculine)
la scatola
the box
che
who, that (relative pronoun)
rendere
to make (someone/something) + adjective, to render
l'ingrediente
the ingredient (m)
mangiabile
edible
Questions & Answers about È questo ingrediente che rende la scatola mangiabile.
How is the word mangiabile formed, and what does the suffix do?
If mangiabile means edible, what is the difference between it and commestibile?
While both translate to edible, commestibile is the formal term for something that is biologically safe for human consumption. mangiabile is more literal and colloquial, meaning eatable. It is often used to describe food that is barely palatable (for example, saying a bad soup is at least eatable) or, as in this sentence, a novel material that you can physically chew and eat.
Why does the sentence use rende instead of fa for the English word makes?
In Italian, when make means to cause something to become a certain state or adjective (like making a box edible, or making someone happy), you must use the verb rendere (to render). You use fare when you are physically creating an object or when making someone do an action, like far piangere (to make cry).
What is the purpose of the structure È questo ingrediente che...?
This is called a cleft sentence, and it is used for emphasis. Instead of simply saying Questo ingrediente rende la scatola mangiabile (This ingredient makes the box edible), breaking it into È... che... puts a heavy spotlight on questo ingrediente as the specific reason the box can be eaten.
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