Log inSign up

Le macchine americane sono veloci.

Le macchine americane sono veloci.
The American cars are fast.
From Lesson 15:Adjective endings (-o, -a, -i, -e)·Italian

Breakdown of Le macchine americane sono veloci.

essere
to be
la macchina
the car
americano
American
veloce
fast

Questions & Answers about Le macchine americane sono veloci.

Why does americane end in -e instead of -i?
The adjective americano (American) belongs to the group of adjectives that end in -o. To describe le macchine (the cars), which is a feminine plural noun, the ending must change to -e to match. If we were describing a masculine plural noun, it would end in -i.
If the cars are feminine plural, why does veloci end in -i?
Veloci comes from the adjective veloce (fast), which belongs to the group of adjectives ending in -e. These adjectives do not change for gender, only for number. They always change to -i in the plural, whether the noun they describe is masculine or feminine.
Why is the word for American placed after the word for cars?
In Italian, most descriptive adjectives and all adjectives of nationality, like americane, come after the noun they describe. This is the opposite of the English word order.
Why does macchine end in -e?
Macchine is the plural of the feminine noun la macchina (the car). As a quick refresher: feminine nouns that end in -a in the singular change to -e in the plural, and the definite article changes from la to le.

Learn Le macchine americane sono veloci and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Italian →