La bicicleta és ràpida.

to be

Breakdown of La bicicleta és ràpida.

• la bicicleta: the bicycle
• ràpid: fast; quick

Questions & Answers about La bicicleta és ràpida.

What does each word in La bicicleta és ràpida do?

• la = the feminine singular definite article, the
• bicicleta = bicycle / bike
• és = is (from the verb ser)
• ràpida = fast

So the structure is:

• La bicicleta = the subject
• és = the verb
• ràpida = an adjective describing the subject

This is a very normal Catalan sentence pattern: subject + verb + adjective.

Why is it la and not el?

Because bicicleta is a feminine noun in Catalan.

Catalan definite articles change for gender and number:

• el = masculine singular
• la = feminine singular
• els = masculine plural
• les = feminine plural

Since bicicleta is feminine singular, it takes la: la bicicleta.

How can I tell that bicicleta is feminine?