Questions & Answers about È un'isola piccola?
Why does un' have an apostrophe here instead of just being una or un?
Isola is a feminine noun that starts with a vowel. The standard feminine word for "a" or "an" is una. However, when the next word starts with a vowel, the 'a' at the end of una is dropped and replaced with an apostrophe to make it flow better when spoken. So, una isola becomes un'isola. Note that the masculine article un never takes an apostrophe!
Where is the word for "it" in this sentence?
In Italian, subject pronouns like "I", "you", or "it" are usually dropped because the verb itself tells you who or what the subject is. The verb è means "he is", "she is", or "it is". When you add a question mark, it simply flips to "is it?" without needing a separate word for "it".
Why does the word for "small" (piccola) come after the word for "island" (isola)?
Why does piccola end in 'a'?
In Italian, adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. Isola is a feminine noun. Therefore, the adjective "small" must use its feminine singular form, which is piccola. If you were talking about a masculine object, like a book (libro), it would change to piccolo.
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