Breakdown of Le sue parole hanno avuto un grande effetto.
grande
big
la parola
the word
l'effetto
the effect (m)
Questions & Answers about Le sue parole hanno avuto un grande effetto.
How would I apply this lesson's 'così / talmente ... da' structure to say "His words had such a great effect as to make me cry"?
The translation says "His words", but couldn't Le sue parole also mean "Her words"?
Yes! In Italian, possessive adjectives agree in gender and number with the thing being possessed, not the owner. Because parole is feminine plural, the possessive must be sue, regardless of whether the speaker is a man or a woman. You would only know it means "his" here from the wider context.
Why is it un grande effetto and not un grand'effetto? Doesn't grande drop its final letter before a vowel?
Using an apostrophe before singular words starting with a vowel (like un grand'effetto) is very common, but keeping the full word grande is also perfectly correct. You only strictly have to shorten it to gran (without an apostrophe) before masculine singular nouns starting with a consonant, like un gran problema.
Could I use fare instead of avere here, as in hanno fatto un grande effetto?
Yes, fare effetto (to take effect / to make an impression) is a very common alternative to avere effetto. However, when describing a specific effect with an article and an adjective (un grande effetto), using avere is slightly more standard for "to have an effect", while fare un grande effetto leans a bit closer to meaning "to make a big impression".
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