Learn Italian: I cani non sono cattivi.

I cani non sono cattivi.

The dogs are not bad.

Breakdown of I cani non sono cattivi.

Questions & Answers about I cani non sono cattivi.

Wait, doesn't sono mean 'I am'? Why is it used here for the dogs?

Sono is actually used for two different forms of the verb essere (to be). It means 'I am' (io sono), but it also means 'they are' (loro sono). Here, because we are talking about i cani (the dogs), it is the 'they are' form.

Why is the word for 'not' placed before the verb?

In Italian, the negative word non almost always goes directly before the verb. So instead of saying 'are not' like in English, you say non sono (literally 'not are').

Cane means dog, so why does it end in an 'i' here? And why use the article i?

The singular word for dog is il cane. Even though it ends in an 'e', it is a masculine noun. In Italian, masculine nouns ending in 'e' change their ending to 'i' in the plural, making it cani. The matching plural masculine word for 'the' is i, which gives us i cani.

Why does the adjective cattivi end in 'i'?

In Italian, adjectives must match the noun they describe. Since i cani is masculine and plural, the adjective cattivo (bad) changes its ending to the masculine plural 'i', becoming cattivi.