Learn Italian: Le finestre sono chiuse, ma le porte sono aperte. - The windows are closed, but the doors are open.

Finestra (window) and porta (door) are feminine nouns that end in -a in their singular form. To make them plural, the -a changes to -e (finestre, porte). For all plural feminine nouns, the definite article is le.

Why do the adjectives chiuse and aperte also end in -e?

In Italian, adjectives must match the gender and number of the noun they describe. The dictionary forms of these words are chiuso (closed) and aperto (open). Because they are describing feminine plural nouns, their endings change to -e to match.

I learned before that sono means 'I am'. Why does it mean 'are' in this sentence?

Sono is a verb that does double duty! It is both the 'I' form (I am) and the 'they' form (they are) of the verb essere (to be). Because the subjects in this sentence are plural (le finestre and le porte), it takes the 'they are' meaning.

How should I pronounce chiuse?