Questions & Answers about Il cane è di Marco?
How does di Marco mean "Marco's"?
Italian doesn't have an equivalent to the English "'s" to show ownership. Instead, it uses the preposition di (of). To say "Marco's", you literally say "of Marco" (di Marco).
Why doesn't the sentence start with "Is" like in English?
In Italian, you don't need to change the word order to ask a question. The statement Il cane è di Marco (The dog is Marco's) becomes a question just by adding a question mark and raising the pitch of your voice at the end.
Why does è have an accent mark?
The accent mark distinguishes è (is) from e (and). Since we need the verb "is" for this sentence, the accent is required!
Should we use an article before Marco, like di il Marco?
No, standard Italian does not use definite articles (like il or la) before people's first names. You just put di right in front of the name: di Marco.