Il sangue è rosso.

to be

Breakdown of Il sangue è rosso.

• rosso: red
• il sangue: the blood

Questions & Answers about Il sangue è rosso.

Why is there il before sangue? In English we usually just say Blood is red.

Italian often uses the definite article with nouns when talking about something in general.

So:

• Il sangue è rosso = Blood is red
• literally: The blood is red

This is very natural in Italian. English often leaves the article out in general statements, but Italian usually does not.

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Why is it il sangue and not lo sangue?

The choice between il and lo depends on the sound that follows.

Use il before most singular masculine nouns, including words that begin with a normal s followed by a vowel, like sangue.

• il sangue
• il sole
• il sale

Use lo before masculine singular nouns beginning with:

• z
• s + consonant
• ps
• gn
• x
• y

For example:

• lo zaino
• lo studente
• lo psicologo

Since sangue begins with sa- and not s + consonant, it takes il.

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Is sangue masculine or feminine? How can I tell?