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Il bambino ha sonno perché è notte.

Il bambino ha sonno perché è notte.
The baby is sleepy because it is night.
From Lesson 24:Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Il bambino ha sonno perché è notte.

Why does the sentence use ha sonno instead of using the verb for "to be"?
In Italian, many physical sensations are expressed using the verb avere (to have) plus a noun, rather than "to be" plus an adjective. Since sonno means "sleep", ha sonno literally translates to "he has sleep". This follows the exact same pattern as avere fame (to have hunger / to be hungry).
Can bambino mean both "baby" and "child"?
Yes! Bambino is a very general word for a young male child, covering everything from a newborn baby up to a pre-teen. To talk about a female child, you would use bambina.
Why do the words perché and è have accent marks on the last letter?
In Italian, an accent mark on the final letter tells you to stress that last syllable when speaking. For è (is), the accent also does a second very important job: it prevents you from confusing it with e, which means "and".
Why is there no article like la before notte?
When stating the general time of day or night using the verb essere (to be), you don't need an article in Italian. È notte translates exactly to "it is night" in English, just like è giorno means "it is day".

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