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Loro sono cugini.

Loro sono cugini.
They are cousins.
From Lesson 8:Plural verb to be (noi siamo, voi siete)·Italian

Breakdown of Loro sono cugini.

essere
to be
loro
they
il cugino
the cousin

Questions & Answers about Loro sono cugini.

Does loro mean 'they' for both men and women?
Yes! Italian uses loro to mean 'they' whether you are talking about a group of men, a group of women, or a mixed group.
I learned before that sono means 'I am'. Why does it mean 'they are' here?
The verb essere (to be) uses the exact same word, sono, for both 'I am' (io sono) and 'they are' (loro sono). You can tell which one is meant by the subject pronoun or the context. Since cugini is plural, the verb has to mean 'they are'.
If cugini is masculine plural, does that mean they are all male cousins?
Not necessarily. In Italian, the masculine plural is used for a group of males, but also for a mixed group of males and females. So cugini can be just men, or a mix. If it were a group of only female cousins, you would say cugine.
Can I drop the loro and just say Sono cugini?
Yes, you can! Italian often drops the subject pronoun. Even though sono can mean 'I am', the plural noun cugini makes it obvious that you mean 'They are cousins' and not 'I am cousins'.

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