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Questions & Answers about Questo esempio è utile.
What is the role of questo in the sentence, and how does it agree with esempio?
Questo functions as a demonstrative adjective meaning this. It modifies the noun esempio, and in Italian, adjectives like questo must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Since esempio is masculine singular, questo is also in its masculine singular form.
What does the word esempio mean, and what is its function in this sentence?
Esempio translates to example in English. In the sentence, it is the noun being specified and described. The demonstrative adjective questo tells us which example is being referred to.
How is the verb è used in this sentence, and why does it have an accent?
È is the third person singular present form of the verb essere (to be). It serves as the linking verb that connects the subject (questo esempio) to the predicate adjective (utile). The accent on è distinguishes it from the word e, which means and.
Why does the adjective utile remain unchanged, and how does adjective agreement work here?
Utile means useful and acts as the predicate adjective describing the subject. In Italian, adjectives generally agree with the noun in gender and number. However, many adjectives, including utile, have the same form for both masculine and feminine in the singular, so no ending change is observed when it agrees with esempio.
How does the structure of this Italian sentence compare to English, especially regarding adjective placement?
The sentence Questo esempio è utile follows the typical Italian structure of Subject (demonstrative adjective + noun) + Verb + Predicate Adjective. In English, adjectives that directly describe a noun usually come before it (as in a useful example), but when an adjective is used as a predicate following the verb to be (as in The example is useful), the order in both languages becomes similar.