Learn Hardcore Italian: Il vento forte disturba il cane in giardino. - The strong wind disturbs the dog in the garden.

In Italian, the default position for descriptive adjectives is after the noun: vento forte (literally wind strong). Placing forte before the noun as in forte vento gives a more poetic or emphatic effect and is less common in everyday speech.

Why are there definite articles il before vento and cane in this sentence?

Italian normally requires the definite article before nouns when referring to something specific. Here il vento means the wind and il cane means the dog. Unlike English, which can omit the in some general statements, Italian articles mark gender and number and are almost always used with nouns.

Could we use the indefinite article un instead of il here? What would change?

Using un gives un vento forte (a strong wind) and un cane (a dog). That would mean any strong wind is bothering any dog in the garden, whereas using il refers to a particular wind and a particular dog already known to the listener.

Why does the verb disturba end in -a instead of -o or -e?

Disturba is the third person singular present indicative of the first‐conjugation verb disturbare. The pattern is io disturbo, tu disturbi, lui/lei disturba, noi disturbiamo, voi disturbate, loro disturbano.

Why don’t we include a subject pronoun like lui or esso before disturba?

Italian often drops subject pronouns because the verb’s ending indicates who or what is performing the action. Here the subject il vento forte is explicitly stated before the verb, so no pronoun is needed.

What does in giardino mean, and why isn’t there an article as in nel giardino?

In giardino means in the garden. With certain places such as casa, scuola, giardino, Italian usually omits the article after in (and after a for a casa). Saying nel giardino (in the garden) is not incorrect but adds a bit more emphasis or specificity.

Why doesn’t the adjective forte change to forta or forti for gender or number?

Adjectives ending in -e (like forte) use -e for both masculine and feminine singular and -i for both plural forms: for example venti forti for strong winds.

Are there other ways to say bother in Italian besides disturbare?

Yes. A common colloquial alternative is dare fastidio: Il vento forte dà fastidio al cane in giardino. You can also use infastidire or dar noia in some regions to convey a similar sense of annoyance.