Learn Italian: Un telefono lavabile sembra un'idea improbabile. - A washable telephone seems like an improbable idea.

Un telefono lavabile sembra un'idea improbabile.

A washable telephone seems like an improbable idea.

Breakdown of Un telefono lavabile sembra un'idea improbabile.

Questions & Answers about Un telefono lavabile sembra un'idea improbabile.

How is the word lavabile constructed here?

It's formed by taking the stem of the verb lavare (to wash) and adding the suffix -abile. This suffix is the equivalent of the English '-able' and means 'capable of being washed'. As a rule of thumb, -are verbs take -abile, while -ere and -ire verbs usually take -ibile.

Is improbabile built from a verb in the exact same way as lavabile?

Not quite. While it shares the -bile ending that denotes possibility, it comes directly from the Latin root for 'probable' rather than being derived from a modern Italian verb. The prefix im- is added to probabile to create its opposite.

Since telefono is masculine and idea is feminine, why do both lavabile and improbabile end in -e?

Adjectives ending in -bile belong to the class of adjectives that end in -e in the singular. These adjectives do not change for gender, meaning they look exactly the same whether they modify a masculine or feminine noun. If you made them plural, both would end in -i (telefoni lavabili, idee improbabili).

Why does un'idea have an apostrophe while un telefono doesn't?