La casa è grande, ma la finestra è piccola.

to be

Breakdown of La casa è grande, ma la finestra è piccola.

• la finestra: the window
• grande: big
• la casa: the house
• ma: but
• piccolo: small

Questions & Answers about La casa è grande, ma la finestra è piccola.

Why does the sentence use la casa (feminine article) for "house"?

In Italian, casa is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine article la. Words aren’t always obviously masculine or feminine, so you learn them individually (e.g., la casa, il libro).

Why is è used instead of another verb?

È is the third-person singular form of the verb essere (to be). It corresponds to the English "is." For describing something or someone (like being big or small), Italian generally uses forms of essere.

What does ma mean in this context?

Ma is an Italian conjunction meaning "but." It contrasts two statements, just like the English "but."

Why is finestra also introduced with la?

Finestra (window) is a feminine noun in Italian, so it uses the article la just like casa.

Why is piccola used instead of piccolo?

Because finestra is feminine, the adjective piccolo (small) must agree with it in gender. So you use the feminine form piccola. This same rule applies to grande, but grande doesn’t change in the singular form.