0

Why incoerenti o inesistenti and not incoerente o inesistente below?

Alcuni paesi si sono contraddistinti per mancanza di coordinazione, strategie incoerenti o inesistenti e si è arrivati perfino alla svalutazione della scienza come guida del processo decisionale.

Why si è arrivati and not arrivato? What is arrivati “accorded” with?

5
  • 4
    “Strategie” is plural, so the adjectives related to it must be plural as well. The problem with “arrivati” is different, but the idea is that the reflexive verb “si è arrivati” is felt with a plural meaning.
    – egreg
    Mar 27, 2022 at 8:48
  • I see this other sentence : È quindi necessario adottare strategie appropriate. it seems to me strategie appropriate is here plural too
    – kiriloff
    Mar 28, 2022 at 4:23
  • Yes, it’s plural.
    – egreg
    Mar 28, 2022 at 7:40
  • so why -e there and -i here?
    – kiriloff
    Mar 28, 2022 at 9:48
  • Adjectives terminating in “e” are invariant for masculine and feminine; their plural ends in “i”. Adjectives such as “appropriato” change termination for singular feminine into “a’; plurals ends in “i” and “e” for masculine and feminine.
    – egreg
    Mar 28, 2022 at 9:52

1 Answer 1

2

There are two main classes of adjectives in Italian. They stem from the corresponding Latin classes

  • bonus, bona, bonum (first class)
  • brevis, breve (second class, same form for masculine and feminine)

The first class adjectives became like

buono, buona, buoni, buone

where distinct forms exist for masculine singular (buono), masculine plural (buoni), feminine singular (buona), feminine plural (buone)

The second class adjectives became like

breve, brevi

where only singular and plural are distinct, whereas masculine and feminine share the same form.

So the plural of “incoerente” is ”incoerenti” and it doesn't matter what gender is the name it refers to. On the contrary, “appropriato” belongs to the first class and “strategia” is feminine, so the concordance is

strategia appropriata
strategie appropriate

For the masculine, it would be like

comportamento appropriato
comportamenti appropriati

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.