Learn Italian: Otto gatti di Marco sono neri. - Eight of Marco's cats are black.

Otto gatti di Marco sono neri.

Eight of Marco's cats are black.

Breakdown of Otto gatti di Marco sono neri.

Questions & Answers about Otto gatti di Marco sono neri.

Does the number otto change its ending depending on what we are counting?

No. In Italian, numbers from two onwards don't change to match masculine or feminine words. It stays the same whether you say otto gatti (eight male cats) or otto gatte (eight female cats). The only exception you might have learned so far is the number one (uno/una).

How does Italian show possession here, like "Marco's" in English?

Italian doesn't have an apostrophe-s ('s) to show ownership. Instead, it uses the preposition di (of). So, "Marco's cats" is built as gatti di Marco (literally: cats of Marco).

Why does the sentence use neri instead of nero?

Adjectives in Italian have to match the noun they describe. Since gatti (cats) is a masculine plural word, the adjective for black must also take the masculine plural ending -i, becoming neri.

Why isn't there a word for "the" before otto?

If the sentence were Gli otto gatti di Marco, it would translate to "Marco's eight cats" (implying he has exactly eight cats in total). By leaving out the word for "the" (gli), it translates closer to "Eight cats of Marco" or "Eight of Marco's cats" (implying he might have even more cats).