Il lupo vive nel bosco.

In Italian, singular countable nouns usually need an article. So lupo by itself would often sound incomplete in a normal sentence.

• il lupo = the wolf
• un lupo = a wolf

Italian uses articles more often than English, so learners often need to get used to that.

Italian often uses the singular definite article to talk about a whole species or category.

So Il lupo vive nel bosco can mean:

• The wolf lives in the forest
• or more generally Wolves live in the forest

This is a common pattern in Italian:

• Il cane è fedele = The dog is loyal / Dogs are loyal
• La tigre è un felino = The tiger is a feline / Tigers are felines

Vive is the third person singular form of vivere (to live).

The subject is il lupo, which is singular, so the verb must also be singular.

Present tense of vivere:

• io vivo = I live
• tu vivi = you live
• lui/lei vive = he/she lives
• noi viviamo = we live
• voi vivete = you all live
• loro vivono = they live

So:

• Il lupo vive = The wolf lives

Italian usually does not use subject pronouns unless they are needed for emphasis or clarity.

So Italian normally says:

• Il lupo vive nel bosco

not:

• Il lupo lui vive nel bosco

The verb ending already helps show the subject, and the noun il lupo is already there, so lui would be unnecessary.

Nel means in the. It is a contraction of:

• in
  • il = nel

So:

• nel bosco = in the forest / in the woods

This kind of contraction is very common in Italian.

Other similar forms are:

• nello = in + lo
• nella = in + la
• nei = in + i
• negli = in + gli
• nelle = in + le

Because Italian usually uses an article with the noun here.

• in = in
• il bosco = the forest
• nel bosco = in the forest

English often omits the article in some expressions, but Italian often keeps it. So in bosco would normally sound incomplete or unnatural in this sentence.

Bosco can mean forest, wood, or woods, depending on context.

So nel bosco could be translated as:

• in the forest
• in the woods

The best English choice depends on the tone and context, but the Italian word itself is very normal and common.

The plural would be:

I lupi vivono nel bosco.

Changes:

• il → i
• lupo → lupi
• vive → vivono

So:

• Il lupo vive nel bosco = The wolf lives in the forest / Wolves live in the forest
• I lupi vivono nel bosco = The wolves live in the forest / Wolves live in the forest

Because many masculine nouns ending in -o change to -i in the plural.

Examples:

• lupo → lupi
• gatto → gatti
• libro → libri

So lupo is a regular masculine singular noun.

The normal word order is:

subject + verb + place

• Il lupo
  • vive
    • nel bosco

This is the most neutral and natural order.

Italian can sometimes change word order for emphasis, for example:

• Nel bosco vive il lupo

That sounds more literary or emphatic, like In the forest lives the wolf. But the original sentence is the standard order.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

eel LOO-poh VEE-veh nel BOHS-koh

A few helpful notes:

• i in il sounds like ee
• u in lupo is like oo
• v in vive is a normal English-like v
• sc is not in bosco; it is pronounced BOS-ko, with a clear sk sound

If you want a rough IPA-style version, it is:

[il ˈlu.po ˈvi.ve nel ˈbos.ko]

Sometimes, yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• vive = lives, exists, resides
• abita = lives, resides, has one’s home

With animals in a general statement, vive is very natural:

• Il lupo vive nel bosco = the wolf lives in the forest

You may also hear:

• Il lupo abita nel bosco

That is understandable, but it can sound a little more like has its home in, while vive is the most straightforward and common choice here.