Il contatto è importante.

to be

Breakdown of Il contatto è importante.

• importante: important
• il contatto: the contact

Questions & Answers about Il contatto è importante.

Why is the definite article il used before contatto in this sentence?

Il is the masculine singular definite article in Italian, equivalent to the in English. It indicates that contatto is a specific or general noun being referred to, and the form il tells you that contatto is masculine.

What is the grammatical gender of contatto, and how does it affect adjective agreement?

Contatto is a masculine noun, as indicated by the article il. In Italian, adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun. In this case, the adjective importante is used with a masculine singular noun. Many adjectives ending in -e, like importante, have the same form for both masculine and feminine in the singular, though they change in the plural (becoming importanti).

Why is the sentence structured as Il contatto è importante rather than following a different word order?

The sentence follows a subject-linking verb-predicate adjective structure:
• Il contatto (subject)
• è (linking verb, equivalent to “is”)
• importante (predicate adjective describing the subject)
This is a standard sentence construction in Italian (and in English) when describing a quality or state of the subject.

Can contatto refer to different kinds of "contact," and how should its meaning be determined?

Yes, contatto can have multiple meanings depending on context. It might refer to a physical touch or to a connection or communication (for example, between people or devices). In this sentence, without additional context, it generally implies that maintaining contact or having connections is important.

How would you form a negative version of the sentence Il contatto è importante?

To form a negative sentence in Italian, you insert non before the verb. Therefore, the negative version is:
Il contatto non è importante.
This translates to “Contact is not important.”