La borsa è rosa.

to be

Breakdown of La borsa è rosa.

• la borsa: the bag
• rosa: pink

Questions & Answers about La borsa è rosa.

Why is it la borsa and not il borsa?

In Italian every noun has a grammatical gender. Borsa (‘bag’) is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine singular definite article la. If the noun were masculine (for example libro, ‘book’), you would use il: il libro.

Why doesn’t rosa change form to rosa/​ros o/​rosse etc.?

Many Italian color adjectives do agree in gender and number (e.g. rosso/ rossa/ rossi/ rosse), but rosa is invariable. That means it stays rosa for masculine and feminine, singular and plural:

• la borsa rosa
• il vestito rosa
• le borse rosa
• i vestiti rosa

Why does the adjective rosa come after the noun instead of before?

The normal position for Italian adjectives is after the noun. Placing them before often adds a poetic or emphatic nuance (e.g. la bella borsa vs. la borsa bella – the second sounds more marked). Sticking to post-nominal adjectives is the safest choice for neutral descriptions.

Could I say La borsa è di colore rosa instead?

Yes. La borsa è di colore rosa (‘The bag is pink-colored’) is perfectly correct. It’s slightly more formal or emphatic because you’ve inserted di colore, but it conveys exactly the same idea.