Il muro è spesso.

The wall is thick.

Breakdown of Il muro è spesso.

• essere: to be
• il muro: the wall
• spesso: thick

Questions & Answers about Il muro è spesso.

Why is il used instead of lo or la for muro?

Il is the masculine singular definite article for words beginning with a simple consonant (like m in muro).

• Lo is used before words starting with s+consonant, z, gn, ps, x, y (e.g. lo studio, lo zaino).
• La is the feminine singular article (e.g. la casa).
  Since muro is a masculine noun beginning with a plain consonant, we choose il muro.

How do I know that spesso here means “thick” and not “often”?

Spesso can be both an adjective (“thick”) and an adverb (“often”). Clues to spot the adjective use:

1. It follows the copula è. Adjectives used predicatively come after essere.
2. As an adjective it agrees in gender/number with the noun (see next question).
   If it were the adverb “often,” it wouldn’t agree and would modify a verb (e.g. Spesso vado al cinema = “I often go to the movies”).

Does spesso change form for gender and number? What would it be with a feminine or plural noun?

Yes. As an adjective it must agree with the noun’s gender and number:

• Masculine singular: spesso (il muro è spesso)
• Feminine singular: spessa (la parete è spessa)
• Masculine plural: spessi (i muri sono spessi)
• Feminine plural: spesse (le pareti sono spesse)