In questa frase il verbo viene prima del sostantivo.

In questa frase means in this sentence.

Italian often uses in with things like sentences, texts, photos, stories, and situations:

• in questa frase = in this sentence
• in questo testo = in this text
• in questa foto = in this photo

If you said just questa frase, that would mean this sentence, but it would not express the idea of inside / within this sentence.

Because frase is a feminine singular noun.

Italian demonstratives must agree with the noun in gender and number:

• questo = masculine singular
• questa = feminine singular
• questi = masculine plural
• queste = feminine plural

So:

• questa frase = this sentence
• questo verbo = this verb

Italian uses definite articles more often than English does.

Here, il verbo means the verb, and del sostantivo means of the noun. Italian normally keeps the article with general grammatical terms in this kind of explanation.

So Italian prefers:

• il verbo
• il sostantivo

where English might sometimes say just verb and noun in a grammar note.

Yes, viene literally means comes, from venire.

But in this sentence, venire prima is a common Italian way to say to come before or to be placed before.

So:

• il verbo viene prima del sostantivo
  = the verb comes before the noun

This is very natural in Italian. It is not strange or overly literal.

Because prima di means before when followed by a noun.

Then di + il contracts to del:

• prima di il sostantivo → prima del sostantivo

So the structure is:

• prima di + noun = before + noun

Examples:

• prima del pranzo = before lunch
• prima della lezione = before the lesson
• prima del sostantivo = before the noun

It is made from two parts:

• di
  • il = del

This is one of the standard Italian contractions of a preposition plus article:

• di + il = del
• di + lo = dello
• di + la = della
• di + i = dei
• di + gli = degli
• di + le = delle

So prima del sostantivo literally contains before of the noun, even though in natural English we just say before the noun.

Because its subject is il verbo, which is singular.

The main structure is:

• il verbo = subject
• viene = verb

Since il verbo is singular, the verb must also be singular:

• il verbo viene
• not il verbo vengono

If the subject were plural, the verb would change:

• i verbi vengono prima... = the verbs come before...

Yes, often you can.

In everyday Italian, many people say nome when talking about grammar, especially in less technical contexts. But sostantivo is the more precise grammatical term for noun.

So both may appear, depending on context:

• il sostantivo = the noun
• il nome = the noun / the name, depending on context

A textbook may prefer sostantivo because it is clearer and more exact.

Yes. It is very normal.

The basic pattern is:

• In questa frase = setting / context
• il verbo = subject
• viene = verb
• prima del sostantivo = complement

Italian word order is often flexible, but this sentence is completely natural and straightforward. It sounds like a normal explanatory statement in a grammar lesson.

Not really in the same natural way.

Italian normally says:

• viene prima di...
• sta prima di...

Using è here sounds unnatural for word order. Viene prima is the best choice in this kind of explanation.

So:

• il verbo viene prima del sostantivo = natural
• il verbo è prima del sostantivo = not the usual phrasing

It is just a normal active sentence.

The subject is il verbo, and the verb is viene. Nothing passive is happening here.

It may feel unusual to an English speaker because English grammar explanations often use is placed before or comes before, while Italian very naturally uses viene prima.

So this is simply:

• subject: il verbo
• verb: viene
• phrase of position/order: prima del sostantivo

You would make the noun phrase plural and also change the article and the verb form as needed.

For example:

• In queste frasi i verbi vengono prima dei sostantivi.

Changes:

• questa → queste
• frase → frasi
• il verbo → i verbi
• viene → vengono
• del sostantivo → dei sostantivi

This is a good example of how agreement works throughout an Italian sentence.