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)

Why do we use essere (è) here instead of stare or another verb?

In Italian, essere expresses inherent qualities or permanent states, such as thickness. Stare is typically for location or temporary conditions (e.g. sto bene = “I’m well”). Since thickness is a property of the wall, we say il muro è spesso.

How would you say “The walls are thick” in Italian?

You adjust both the article and the adjective to plural:
I muri sono spessi.

Can spesso be used directly after muro—as in “il muro spesso”—without essere?

You can use spesso attributively (before or after the noun), but with an indefinite article or in a noun phrase:

• Un muro spesso = “a thick wall.”
  Just il muro spesso without è sounds incomplete; for a complete sentence you need the copula (è).

How do you pronounce the double ss in spesso?

Italian ss indicates a long (geminated) voiceless /s/ sound. So spesso is [ˈspes.so], with the s held slightly longer than a single s.