Il libro è interessante.

to be

Breakdown of Il libro è interessante.

• il libro: the book
• interessante: interesting

Questions & Answers about Il libro è interessante.

Why does the sentence use il instead of un?

In Italian, il is the definite article meaning the, while un is the indefinite article meaning a or an. We use il here to express that we’re talking about a specific book, not just any book.

Is libro masculine or feminine?

Libro is a masculine noun in Italian. That’s why the sentence uses the masculine article il and not the feminine article la.

How is the word è pronounced, and why does it have an accent?

The è in è interessante has a grave accent that indicates both the pronunciation (open 'e' sound) and distinguishes it from e (without accent), which means and. Pronounced as an open eh, it’s simply the third-person singular form of essere (to be) in the present tense.

Why does interessante end in -e and not -o or -a?

Many Italian adjectives that end in -e can refer to both masculine and feminine nouns in the singular form. For the plural, these adjectives typically end in -i (e.g., interessanti). So interessante stays the same whether the noun is masculine or feminine, as long as it’s singular.

Can I modify the sentence to say Il libro è molto interessante?

Yes! Adding molto (which means very) intensifies the description: Il libro è molto interessante translates to The book is very interesting. This is a perfectly natural way to express yourself in Italian.