Breakdown of Le parole sono tante, ma il tempo è poco.
essere
to be
ma
but
la parola
the word
poco
little, few, not very
tanto
so much, a lot / as (in comparisons)
il tempo
the time, the weather
Questions & Answers about Le parole sono tante, ma il tempo è poco.
Why is it tante instead of tanto?
Why does poco translate to "short" instead of "little"?
Literally, il tempo è poco means "the time is little" or "there is a small amount of time." While we naturally say "time is short" in English, Italian uses poco to express that the quantity of time is small. Because it describes il tempo, which is masculine singular, it stays in its default form, poco.
Parole ends in -e. Why does it take the feminine plural adjectives and articles?
Parole is the plural form of la parola (the word). Remember that regular feminine nouns ending in -a in the singular change to -e in the plural. If you are ever unsure of a noun's gender, looking at the words around it—like the feminine plural article le and adjective tante—will give you the answer!
Why does the Italian sentence use Le and il when the English translation doesn't use "the"?
Italian uses definite articles (like il, la, i, le) much more often than English does. You generally need them when talking about broad categories, abstract concepts, or things in a general sense. So, while English simply says "time is short," Italian requires the article: il tempo (the time).
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