Breakdown of Ci sono molti calamai e reliquiari da pulire.
essere
to be
e
and
molto
a lot of / much
pulire
to clean
Questions & Answers about Ci sono molti calamai e reliquiari da pulire.
Why do calamai and reliquiari end in a single i, given their singular forms calamaio and reliquiario?
For masculine nouns ending in -io, the spelling of the plural depends on the word's stress. Because the i in calamaio and reliquiario is unstressed (the stress is on the a before it), the plural drops the o and merges into a single i. A double i is only used if the i in the singular is stressed, as in zio becoming zii.
Are the endings in calamai and reliquiari pronounced as one syllable or two?
They are pronounced as a single syllable. The vowels in the plural endings -ai and -ari blend together smoothly as diphthongs, rather than being broken into two distinct vowel beats.
Why does the sentence use da pulire instead of a pulire or per pulire?
When an infinitive describes a task that needs to be completed or a purpose an object serves, Italian uses the preposition da. It functions essentially like a passive infinitive in English, so da pulire translates directly to 'to be cleaned'.
Is there a pattern to words ending in -aio and -ario that helps remember this plural rule?