Il vicolo è stretto.

The alley is narrow.

Breakdown of Il vicolo è stretto.

• essere: to be
• il vicolo: the alley
• stretto: narrow

Questions & Answers about Il vicolo è stretto.

Why do we use il instead of la before vicolo?

Vicolo is a masculine noun, so it takes the masculine article il. Italian nouns have grammatical gender, which might not always follow logical patterns from an English speaker’s perspective. You simply learn each noun’s gender as you expand your vocabulary.

Why is the adjective stretto placed after the noun vicolo?

In Italian, descriptive adjectives often follow the noun they describe. While some adjectives can precede the noun (especially those meaning beauty, age, goodness, and size), the default position for most descriptive adjectives (like stretto) is after the noun.

How do I correctly pronounce stretto?

It’s pronounced with a rolled r (the r is tapped or trilled) and a clean, open e sound. You can break it down as stret-to. The double t means you hold the sound slightly longer than a single t in English.

What’s the difference between è (with a grave accent) and e (without any accent) in Italian?

È (grave accent) is the third-person singular form of the verb essere (meaning is). Meanwhile, e (no accent) is the conjunction meaning and. So, il vicolo è stretto means the alley is narrow, while il vicolo e stretto would be incorrect in standard Italian.