Questions & Answers about La ghiaia copre il sentiero.
Italian uses definite articles more often than English does. In a simple sentence like this, la ghiaia sounds natural, even if English might just say gravel with no article.
So:
- la ghiaia = the gravel
- but in English, the is often omitted where Italian keeps it
Using bare ghiaia here would sound unnatural in standard Italian.
It is grammatically singular and feminine.
Even though gravel is made up of many small stones, Italian treats ghiaia as a mass noun, like sand or water in English. Because it is singular, the verb is singular too:
- la ghiaia copre
- not la ghiaia coprono
A plural form ghiaie does exist, but it is usually used in technical or specialized contexts to mean different kinds or deposits of gravel.
Because the subject is la ghiaia, which is singular.
Italian verbs must agree with the subject in person and number. Since ghiaia is a singular noun, the verb must also be singular:
- la ghiaia copre = singular subject + singular verb
If the subject were plural, then you would use coprono:
- Le pietre coprono il sentiero.