L'ala è piccola.

The wing is small.

Breakdown of L'ala è piccola.

• essere: to be
• piccolo: small
• l'ala: the wing

Questions & Answers about L'ala è piccola.

Why is it l'ala and not la ala?

Because la becomes l' before a word that starts with a vowel. This is called elision.

So:

• la + ala → l'ala

The noun is still feminine singular; the apostrophe only shows that the a of la has been dropped.

Is ala feminine?

Yes. Ala is a feminine singular noun.

That is why it uses:

• the feminine article la / l'
• the feminine singular adjective piccola

So the grammar matches all the way through:

• l'ala = feminine singular
• è piccola = feminine singular adjective

Why does piccola end in -a?

Because Italian adjectives usually agree with the noun they describe in gender and number.

Since ala is feminine singular, the adjective must also be feminine singular:

• piccolo = masculine singular
• piccola = feminine singular
• piccoli = masculine plural
• piccole = feminine plural

So L'ala è piccola uses piccola because ala is feminine singular.

Why does è have an accent?