Il messaggio è breve.

The message is brief.

Breakdown of Il messaggio è breve.

• essere: to be
• il messaggio: the message
• breve: brief

Questions & Answers about Il messaggio è breve.

Why is il used before messaggio, instead of no article?

Italian normally requires articles before nouns, unlike English. Here we talk about a specific message, so we use the masculine singular definite article il. Omitting it (messaggio è breve) sounds like a headline or note rather than a normal sentence.

How do I know that messaggio is masculine?

Most Italian nouns ending in -o are masculine. In the plural, messaggio becomes messaggi (ending in -i), which is another marker of masculine plural in Italian.

What does è mean, and why does it have a grave accent?

È is the third-person singular present form of the verb essere (to be) and means is. The grave accent distinguishes it from e (and), which is the conjunction.

Why does the adjective breve come after the noun, unlike English where adjectives usually go before nouns?

In Italian, most descriptive adjectives follow the noun they modify. Placing breve before the noun (il breve messaggio) is possible but gives a more literary or emphatic tone.

Does the adjective breve change form for gender and number?