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Questions & Answers about Il documento è ufficiale.
Why is the definite article il used before documento instead of lo or la?
Because documento is a masculine singular noun beginning with a consonant (D). In Italian, il is used before masculine singular nouns that start with most consonants. Lo is reserved for masculine singular nouns starting with s+consonant, z, gn, ps, x, y, and la is for feminine singular nouns.
Why does the adjective ufficiale end with -e when documento ends with -o? Shouldn't they match?
Adjectives ending in -e have the same form for both masculine and feminine singular. They only change to -i in the plural, regardless of gender. Since documento is masculine singular, ufficiale stays -e to agree correctly.
What role does è play in this sentence?
è is the third person singular present of essere, meaning “is.” It functions as a copula (linking verb) that connects il documento (the subject) to ufficiale (the predicate adjective).
Can I say Documento è ufficiale without il, like in English “Document is official”?
No. In Italian, singular countable nouns generally require a definite article when you mean “the X.” Omitting il would sound ungrammatical or overly abrupt.
How do I pronounce è, and is there a difference between è and e (without accent)?
è is pronounced /ɛ/ (an open E). The accent distinguishes it from e (“and”), which is pronounced /e/ (a close E). It also marks the stress and tells you it’s the verb form, not the conjunction.
How would I turn this sentence into a question?
Simply use rising intonation:
Il documento è ufficiale?
You can add adverbs for emphasis, e.g.
Il documento è davvero ufficiale? (“Is the document really official?”)
What’s the antonym of ufficiale in Italian?
The simplest opposite is non ufficiale (“not official”). A single-word antonym is ufficioso, which means “unofficial” or “informal,” especially for documents or information lacking formal approval.