Learn Hardcore Italian: Metto un segnalibro rosso alla pagina più importante. - I put a red bookmark on the most important page.

Metto is the first-person singular present of the verb mettere, which means to put/place. So metto translates as “I put” or “I place.”

Why do we use un before segnalibro and not uno or no article at all?

• Segnalibro is a masculine singular, countable noun. Italian requires an indefinite article for such nouns.
• We use un before most masculine nouns that start with a consonant or a vowel (e.g. un libro, un amico).
• Uno is reserved for masculine nouns beginning with s + consonant, z, gn, ps, x or y (e.g. uno studente, uno zaino).
• Omitting the article (saying Metto segnalibro) is ungrammatical here.

Why is the adjective rosso placed after segnalibro, and does it change form?

• In Italian, descriptive adjectives typically follow the noun.
• Rosso agrees in gender and number with segnalibro (masculine singular), so it stays rosso.
• If there were several bookmarks, you’d say segnalibri rossi (masculine plural).

Why is it alla pagina instead of a la pagina, and what does the preposition a indicate here?

• In Italian, a + definite article la contract to alla.
• Here a indicates the reference point or location where the bookmark is placed—idiomatically “on the page” or “at the page.”
• So alla pagina literally means “to the page,” but in context it’s understood as “on that page.”

Could we say sulla pagina instead of alla pagina, and if so, is there a difference?

• Sulla is from su + la, meaning strictly “on the surface of.”
• You could say metto un segnalibro sulla pagina, but Italians more often use a for page references (e.g. a pagina 20, alla pagina più importante).
• Using su isn’t incorrect, but a is more idiomatic when identifying a specific page rather than emphasizing the physical surface.

What does più importante mean, and is it a comparative or superlative?

• Più means “more.”
• With a preceding definite article (la pagina più importante), it becomes a relative superlative: “the most important page.”
• A comparative (“more important than…”) would be più importante di…
• An absolute superlative (very important) uses -issimo: importantissimo.

Does the adjective importante change for gender or number?

Adjectives ending in -e like importante have two forms:
• -e for singular (both masculine and feminine):
– il libro importante (masc. sing.)
– la pagina importante (fem. sing.)
• -i for plural:
– i libri importanti (masc. pl.)
– le pagine importanti (fem. pl.)