Gli studenti americani sono intelligenti e divertenti.
The American students are intelligent and fun.
Breakdown of Gli studenti americani sono intelligenti e divertenti.
essere
to be
e
and
intelligente
intelligent
lo studente
the student
americano
American
divertente
fun
Questions & Answers about Gli studenti americani sono intelligenti e divertenti.
Why do americani, intelligenti, and divertenti all end in -i?
They are all plural, but they belong to different adjective groups! Americani comes from americano, which has four forms (-o, -a, -i, -e). Because studenti is masculine plural, it becomes americani. Intelligenti and divertenti come from intelligente and divertente. These belong to a group that only ends in -e for singular and -i for plural, regardless of gender. In this sentence, they all just happen to share the -i ending because they are plural!
Why does it say studenti americani instead of americani studenti?
In Italian, descriptive adjectives like nationalities, colors, and personality traits usually go after the noun they describe. So, "American students" flips to become "students American".
Why do we use gli for "the" instead of i?
How do we know studenti is masculine if the singular form (studente) ends in -e?
Nouns ending in -e in the singular can be either masculine or feminine, and you just have to memorize which is which. Studente happens to be masculine. Because it is masculine, any adjectives describing it that have four forms (like americano) must use the masculine endings (-o for singular, -i for plural).
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