Learn Italian: Oggi il treno è tanto lento. - Today the train is so slow.

Oggi il treno è tanto lento.

Today the train is so slow.

Breakdown of Oggi il treno è tanto lento.

Questions & Answers about Oggi il treno è tanto lento.

Why does this sentence use tanto instead of molto?

When used before an adjective like lento (slow), both tanto and molto can mean "very." However, tanto often feels a bit more expressive or emotional, which is why it translates nicely to "so" (as in "so slow") rather than just "very."

If the subject was feminine, would tanto change to tanta?

No! In this sentence, tanto is acting as an adverb because it describes the adjective lento. Adverbs never change their endings. For example, if we were talking about a car (la macchina), we would say La macchina è tanto lenta. The adjective (lenta) changes to match the feminine car, but tanto stays exactly the same.

Why does lento end in -o?

Lento (slow) is an adjective describing il treno (the train). Because treno is a masculine singular noun, the adjective must also take the masculine singular ending, which is -o.

Could I put tanto after the adjective instead?