Question 1

How is the word lavabile constructed here?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 2

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

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

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).

Question 4

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

Accepted Answer

Idea is a feminine noun starting with a vowel, so the feminine indefinite article una drops its final a and takes an apostrophe (un'). Telefono is masculine, so it uses the standard masculine article un, which never takes an apostrophe. Even at an intermediate level, mixing up un and un' is a very common writing mistake, so it's always worth a quick double-check!

Un telefono lavabile sembra un'idea improbabile.

Breakdown of Un telefono lavabile sembra un'idea improbabile.

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

Learn Un telefono lavabile sembra un'idea improbabile and more in Italian