Il coltello affilato taglia la mela.

the apple

Breakdown of Il coltello affilato taglia la mela.

• tagliare: to cut
• il coltello: the knife
• affilato: sharp

Questions & Answers about Il coltello affilato taglia la mela.

What is the role of the definite articles in “Il coltello affilato taglia la mela”?

The articles il and la tell us which specific items are being discussed and indicate noun gender. Il is the masculine singular definite article used with coltello (knife), and la is the feminine singular definite article used with mela (apple).

Why is the adjective affilato placed after the noun coltello instead of before it?

In Italian, descriptive adjectives like affilato (sharp) are typically positioned after the noun they modify. This placement emphasizes an inherent quality of the object and is standard for adjectives that express an objective description. In contrast, adjectives placed before the noun can sometimes reflect a more subjective or poetic nuance.

How does the adjective affilato agree with the noun coltello in this sentence?

Adjectives in Italian must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Since coltello is a masculine singular noun, the adjective appears in its masculine singular form as affilato. If the noun were feminine or plural, the adjective form would need to change accordingly.

What is the form and function of the verb taglia in this sentence?

Taglia is the third person singular present tense form of the verb tagliare (to cut). It functions as the main verb of the sentence, agreeing with the singular subject il coltello affilato and indicating that the knife performs the action of cutting.

How does the sentence structure of this Italian sentence compare to its English translation “The sharp knife cuts the apple”?

Both Italian and English generally follow a Subject-Verb-Object order. One notable difference is the placement of the adjective: in English, sharp comes before knife, whereas in Italian, affilato follows coltello. This difference in adjective placement is a common syntactic variation between the two languages.