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La borsa è rosa.

La borsa è rosa.
The bag is pink.
FromLesson 45inHardcore Italian

Breakdown of La borsa è rosa.

essere
to be
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.
What verb is è, and can I use something else?
È is the third-person singular of essere (‘to be’). You could also say sembra rosa (‘it seems pink’) or diventa rosa (‘it becomes pink’) depending on the context, but for a simple state-of-being description, è is the standard choice.
How would I say “The bags are pink” in Italian?

You need to make both article and verb agree with the plural: Le borse sono rosa.

Are there other color adjectives in Italian that are invariable like rosa?

Yes. A few common ones are:
• beige (beige)
• blu (blue)
• arancione (orange) – sometimes arancioni in the plural, but often invariable
These stay the same regardless of gender/number just like rosa.

Could I drop the verb and say La borsa rosa to mean “the pink bag”?
Absolutely. When you place an adjective directly after the article and before the noun, it becomes a simple attributive adjective: La borsa rosa = “the pink bag.” This is even more concise than using è.
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