Il documento è ufficiale.

The document is official.

Breakdown of Il documento è ufficiale.

• essere: to be
• il documento: the document
• ufficiale: official

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”?