Learn Italian: Le parole non sono cattive.

Le parole non sono cattive.

The words are not bad.

Breakdown of Le parole non sono cattive.

Questions & Answers about Le parole non sono cattive.

Why do we use le instead of i for "the"?

In Italian, the plural word for "the" depends on the gender of the noun. Because parola (word) is a feminine noun, we use the feminine plural article le. If the noun were masculine, we would use i.

Why does parole end in -e instead of -i like other plural words?

Regular feminine nouns that end in -a in the singular change their ending to -e in the plural. So, la parola (the word) becomes le parole (the words). Masculine nouns ending in -o change to -i.

Why does the adjective cattive also end in -e?

Adjectives must match the noun they describe in both gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). Since parole is feminine and plural, the base adjective cattivo (bad) changes to its feminine plural form, cattive.

I remember sono means "I am". Why is it used here for "the words"?

The verb form sono does double duty in Italian! It means both "I am" and "they are". Here, because "the words" is a plural subject (they), we use the "they are" meaning.

Why does non come before the verb?