La luce è rossa.

From Lesson 10:Nouns ending in -e·Italian

Breakdown of La luce è rossa.

essere
to be
rosso
red
la luce
the light

Questions & Answers about La luce è rossa.

Why does luce end in -e if it is a feminine noun?
In Italian, not all feminine nouns end in -a. There is a large group of nouns that end in -e in the singular, and these can be either masculine or feminine. You just have to memorize the gender when you learn the word! In this sentence, the article la and the adjective rossa are your clues that luce is feminine.
How do I make a noun like luce plural?
Nouns that end in -e always change their ending to -i for the plural, regardless of whether they are masculine or feminine. So, la luce (the light) becomes le luci (the lights).
Why is the adjective rossa instead of rosso?
Adjectives must match the noun they describe in both gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). Because luce is a feminine singular noun, the adjective changes from its default masculine form rosso to the feminine singular form rossa.
What would this entire sentence look like in the plural?
If you want to say 'The lights are red', la luce becomes le luci. The verb è becomes sono. The adjective rossa must also match the plural feminine noun, so it changes to rosse. The full plural sentence is: Le luci sono rosse.

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