Learn Italian: Queste sono le scatole vuote.

Queste sono le scatole vuote.

These are the empty boxes.

Breakdown of Queste sono le scatole vuote.

Questions & Answers about Queste sono le scatole vuote.

Why is it queste and not questi?

Queste means "these" for feminine plural words. It points to le scatole (the boxes), which is a feminine plural noun. If we were pointing to masculine objects, we would use questi.

Is queste acting as an adjective or a pronoun here?

Here, queste is a pronoun because it stands alone as the subject ("These are..."). If it were an adjective, it would be attached directly to the noun, like in Queste scatole sono vuote (These boxes are empty).

How can I tell that scatole is feminine?

The singular word for box is scatola. Because it ends in -a, it is feminine. To make it plural, the -a changes to -e, becoming scatole. The feminine plural word for "the" (le) right before it is also a great clue!

Why does vuote end in "-e"?

Adjectives have to match the gender and number of the noun they describe. The dictionary form is vuoto (empty). Because scatole is feminine and plural, the adjective must change its ending to match, becoming vuote.