Learn Hardcore Italian: Il gioco è facile.

The sentence is a simple construction made up of a subject, a linking verb, and a predicate adjective. Il gioco (“the game”) is the subject, è is the third-person singular form of essere (“to be”), and facile serves as the predicate adjective describing the subject.

What does the definite article il indicate in this sentence?

The article il is the masculine singular definite article in Italian. It tells us that gioco (“game”) is a masculine noun and specifies that we are talking about a particular game – much like the word “the” functions in English.

Why is the verb è used here, and what does it represent?

È is the third-person singular present tense form of the verb essere. It acts as a linking verb, connecting the subject (il gioco) to the predicate adjective (facile), which together express that “the game is easy.”

How does the adjective facile agree with the noun gioco?

In Italian, adjectives must agree with the noun they modify in both gender and number. Since gioco is a masculine singular noun, the adjective remains facile. For example, if you were referring to multiple games, you would say i giochi sono facili, where both the noun and the adjective change to their plural forms.

Is the word order in Il gioco è facile typical for Italian sentences?

Yes, it is. Italian commonly follows a subject-verb-predicate pattern, especially in simple declarative sentences. In this case, il gioco (subject), è (verb), and facile (predicate adjective) appear in a standard, straightforward order. However, Italian is flexible with word order for stylistic or emphatic reasons in more complex sentences.

How would the sentence change if we were talking about more than one game?

If you were referring to multiple games, the sentence would change to agree in number. The plural form of il gioco is i giochi, the verb è becomes sono (the third-person plural of essere), and facile changes to facili. The complete sentence would be: I giochi sono facili (“The games are easy”).