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My dictionary tells me "capace" also means "capacious" / "large." Not true?
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I don't know about "large," but that certainly is true for "capacious" = "capable," although "capacious" was not accepted for me before for «Il cavallo è un animale capace.»
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I think it's because 'capace' primarily means 'able' or 'capable' and that's different than 'clever'. I think of it as meaning that someone has the "capacity" to get something done, by way of remembering it.
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I think "capable at doing something" can also be considered "good at doing something" or even "clever at doing something." but you cannot just replace "capable" person with "good" or "clever" person.
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"Capace" means able, capable or capacious according to my trusty dictionary (and to my less trustworthy understanding!) I suspect your problem comes with the current hover-over hints that contains the word "good." These hints are becoming a little notorious for being somewhat misleading. Time will sort them out but treat them with utmost caution - I've lost many a heart over such things!
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"good at" is more than "capable of", but at least it is closer than "good" to "capable".
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I thought I hovered and saw the 'Explain' hint that tells this is like many other words in this section that end in a/o/e/i ... yet it seems that here this singular noun (una donna) takes a plural ending (capace)? Can someone help me understand this word and clarify what endings it takes?
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(American English speaker) It could be one of those words in which the singular ends in "e" and the plural ends in "i" for either gender
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There is another sentense "Io sono capace" on DL. So "io" takes the same adjective form as "lui/lei"? (it is "capaci" for "tu" thou)
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No, @dirty_joke. «Capace» is not a verb that is conjugated; it's not «io capace», «tu capaci», «lui/lei capace», «noi capaciamo», etc. It is an adjective; it is one of those adjectives that ends in «e» if the speaker is singular and «i» if the speaker(s) is/are plural. For example, «Tu sei capace.» but «Voi siete capaci.» Just like «Io sono intelligente.» but «Noi siamo intelligenti.»
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Thx a lot for the clarification! But I'm confused again cuz I just encountered DL using "alcune donne" and "alcuni libri", where "alcune" means "some" and should be an adjective. Why is it conjugated in this case? Thnx again in advance!
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Ah. I believe your confusion comes from the use of the confusing terminology that we, unfortunately, use. "Conjugating" generally applies only to verbs: «io vedo», «tu vedi», "I walk," "you walk," "he/she walks," etc. What you are referring to is called "agreement." You might hear something called "subject-verb agreement," which, in that case, is essentially the same as conjugating correctly, i.e. you can't say "he/she walk." Agreement with regards to adjectives and nouns, as far as Romance languages go, is just that. Adjectives and nouns should match/agree in number: «bella casa» is right, but «belle casa» is wrong. Adjectives should also agree with the nouns in gender, which is why «bel casa» and «alcune libri» are also wrong.
I hope this helped. Basically the word "conjugation" should only really be used when referring to verbs. "Agreeing" is like matching and can be used in a more general sense: subjects and verbs, adjectives and nouns, etc.
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That is a regular adjective:
- alcuna donna (singular feminine)
- alcune donne (plural feminine)
- alcuno libro (singular masculine)
- alcuni libri (plural masculine)
capace ends in -e in the singular and so it ends in -i in both feminine and masculine plurals
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Adjectives ending in -e are invariable in the singular and change to -i in the plural for both genders.
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Is it just me or does it sound like she is shouting Lei a little louder than normal?
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Random...Because it's one of those adjectives which always ends in -e in the singular regardless of gender.
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"clever" and "capable" mean different things. I'd use 'geniale' for 'clever'.
