Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Italian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Il coniglio è carino.
What does il mean in this sentence?
Il is the masculine singular definite article in Italian, equivalent to "the" in English. It signals that the noun that follows is masculine and singular.
What is the meaning of coniglio, and why is its gender significant?
Coniglio means "rabbit" in English. Its masculine gender is important because it determines which article and adjective forms are used—in this case, il for the article and carino for the adjective, both of which are in masculine singular form.
How is the verb è functioning in this sentence?
È is the third person singular form of the verb essere (meaning "to be"). It acts as the linking verb between the subject (il coniglio) and the predicate adjective (carino).
Why does the adjective carino remain unchanged, and how does it match with coniglio?
In Italian, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Since coniglio is masculine singular, carino is also in the masculine singular form to conform to correct grammatical agreement.
How would you transform the sentence to say that multiple rabbits are cute?
To indicate the plural, you would say "I conigli sono carini." In this version:
- Il becomes I (the plural definite article for masculine nouns),
- Coniglio changes to conigli (plural form),
- È changes to sono (the plural form of essere), and
- Carino changes to carini (plural form of the adjective).