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Questions & Answers about La risposta è diretta.
Why is it la risposta and not just risposta?
In Italian, the definite article is used more often than in English. La risposta means the answer, and that is the most natural form in a normal sentence like this.
You can sometimes leave the article out, but usually only in special contexts, such as titles, headings, or certain fixed expressions. In an ordinary statement, La risposta è diretta sounds normal.
Why is the article la?
Why is diretta feminine?
Because adjectives in Italian usually agree with the noun they describe in gender and number.
Here, diretta describes risposta, which is feminine singular, so the adjective must also be feminine singular:
- masculine singular: diretto
- feminine singular: diretta
- masculine plural: diretti
- feminine plural: dirette
So:
What does the accented è mean, and why does it have an accent?