Breakdown of La scarpa è stretta, però possiamo allargarla.
essere
to be
la scarpa
the shoe
potere
to be able
però
but
Questions & Answers about La scarpa è stretta, però possiamo allargarla.
Why is it la scarpa and not just scarpa?
In Italian, singular countable nouns usually need an article when you are talking about a specific thing.
So:
In this sentence, la scarpa refers to a particular shoe, so the definite article la is natural.
Italian uses articles more often than English, so learners often notice this quickly.
Does scarpa mean one shoe? Why is it singular?
Yes, scarpa means shoe in the singular.
This sentence talks about one shoe as a single item. That may sound a little unusual to an English speaker if you are thinking of footwear as a pair, but Italian can absolutely talk about one shoe if that is what matters in context.
If you wanted to talk about both shoes, you would say something like:
- Le scarpe sono strette, però possiamo allargarle.
Why is it stretta and not stretto?