Learn Hardcore Italian: Il dolore è forte.

In Italian you normally use the definite article with abstract or general concepts, e.g. il dolore, la gioia, la paura. In English you often drop the article when speaking in general, but in Italian it’s required to say il dolore rather than just dolore.

How do I know dolore is masculine?

All Italian nouns have grammatical gender. Although dolore ends in -e (which can be either), it’s masculine. You’ll often see that confirmed by the article il (masculine singular) or by checking a dictionary entry (it will say “m.” for masculine).

Why does forte come after the noun rather than before it?

The default Italian adjective position is after the noun: dolore forte. Placing an adjective before the noun is possible for emphasis or poetic effect (e.g. fiero guerriero), but standard descriptive adjectives follow the noun in everyday speech and writing.

Why use è forte instead of saying mi fa molto male?