- Forum >
- Topic: Italian >
- "Dove sono le lenzuola?"
68 Comments
1072
There are a few exceptions to the usual pluralization rules...e.g. the plural of lip (labbro) is labbra.
It's the neuter gender ;) In Italian it was absorbed by the masculine, but in some cases the plural remained and was perceived as a feminine, so "linteolum" became "il lenzuolo", and its plural "linteola" became "le lenzuola". Same with "l'uovo"/"le uova", "il braccio"/"le braccia", "il paio"/"le paia" and so on; they're very few compared to the number of Latin neuters though.
Thanks :D
I'm not sure about that, it's more or less what the Greeks tried at the beginning with their Katharevousa, a formal Greek variant that was "purified" of its non-Greek evolution and loans; keeping a literary language that is too far from what is spoken in everyday life creates an artificial distance between the people and their institutions, and that isn't desirable in a modern nation.
Latin was likely already a literary Language in the late Roman Empire, if in 813 AD the bishops were issued the recommendation to deliver their sermons "in rusticam romanam linguam aut thiotiscam" (in the rural Roman or German language) rather than in Latin, as that implies that the Romans (or rather the citizens of the former Western Empire) outside the centers of culture and power already couldn't understand Latin well. One of the first transcriptions of spoken Romance is a testimony in a trial that in 960 AD assigned the lands around Aquino to the Benedictine Abbey of Montecassino (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Placito-capua.jpg), and it already looks more Italian than Latin (note the clitic "le").
In Italian there is no neuter gender. This should be useful http://www.culturasocial.it/esiste-neutro-italiano/
"Linens" are not necessarily "sheets". In fact, Italian has other words for that.
http://dictionnaire.reverso.net/italien-anglais/lenzuola http://dictionnaire.reverso.net/anglais-italien/linens
1856
Personally, I believe 'linens' should be accepted. Here in Britain, when we say we are going to 'change the linens' we ALWAYS mean we're going to change the sheets/bedding.
"Linens" are not necessarily "sheets". In fact, Italian has other words for that. http://dictionnaire.reverso.net/italien-anglais/lenzuola
1072
Based on clues in the rest of the sentence and in the context. Adjective endings can be clues: sono intelligente vs sono intelligenti. Same with whether a noun is singular vs plural: sono un ammiratore, sono ammiratori.
https://quizlet.com/238273416/italian-chapter-10-nouns-whose-gender-changes-in-the-plural-flash-cards/ NOUNS WHOSE GENDER CHANGES IN THE PLURAL
779
one word, two plurals: -https://www.italien-facile.com/exercices/exercice-italien-2/exercice-italien-62429.php
il braccio
i bracci della sedia
le braccia del corpo
ciglio
i cigli della strada
le ciglia lunghe
il corno
i corni del dilemma
le corna del cervo
Il dito
i diti mi fanno male
le dita della mano
Filo
i fili del teléfono
le fila del complotto
Il ginocchio = i ginocchi / le ginocchia
Il grido = i gridi / le grida
Il labbro = i labbri / le labbra
Il lenzuolo = i lenzuoli / le lenzuola
Il muro = i muri / le mura
L'osso = gli ossi / le ossa
L'urlo = gli urli / le urla
the arm
the arms of the chair
the arms of the body
eyelash
the roadside
long eyelashes
the horn
the horns of the dilemma
the antlers of the deer
The finger
my fingers hurt me
the fingers of the hand
Wire
the telephone wires
the ranks of the conspiracy
The knee = the knees
The cry = the screams
The lip = the lips
The sheet = the sheets
The wall = the walls
The bone = the bones
The scream = the screams