Log inSign up

I colori del mare sono belli.

I colori del mare sono belli.
The colors of the sea are beautiful.
From Lesson 48:Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)·Italian

Questions & Answers about I colori del mare sono belli.

Why is the word del used instead of just di?
del is an articulated preposition, which means it is a combination of a preposition and a definite article. Here, Italian combines di (of) and il (the) into del to mean "of the".
How do we know to use il (and therefore del) with mare, since it ends in -e?
Nouns that end in -e in Italian can be either masculine or feminine. mare is masculine singular, so it uses the masculine singular article il. When combined with di, it becomes del.
Why is the adjective belli plural when the closest noun, mare, is singular?
Adjectives always match the noun they are describing. In this sentence, belli (beautiful) describes i colori (the colors), not il mare (the sea). Because colori is masculine and plural, the adjective changes its ending to match, becoming belli.
How did colore become colori?
Whether a noun is masculine or feminine, if its singular form ends in -e, its plural form will always end in -i. So, the singular masculine noun colore becomes the plural colori.

Learn I colori del mare sono belli and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Italian →