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Mia sorella è entrata in banca.

Mia sorella è entrata in banca.
My sister entered the bank.
From Lesson 69:The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Mia sorella è entrata in banca.

Why do we use è instead of ha here?
The verb entrare (to enter) is a verb of motion. In the passato prossimo past tense, verbs that describe moving from one place to another or a change of state use essere as their helper verb instead of avere. So, Italian literally says that your sister is entered.
Why is the past participle entrata and not entrato?
When a past tense verb uses essere as its helper, the past participle has to match the subject. Since mia sorella is a feminine singular subject, the default -o ending changes to -a.
Why do we need the word in here if the English translation is just entered the bank?
Unlike in English, the Italian verb entrare cannot attach directly to a destination. You must enter into a place. Therefore, it is followed by a preposition like in.
Why is it just in banca instead of nella banca?
For certain everyday locations like banca (bank), classe (classroom), or chiesa (church), Italian uses the simple preposition in without adding a definite article. This is similar to how we say at school or in bed in English.
We previously learned that possessive words need an article, so why isn't it la mia sorella?
You usually need the article (as in la mia casa), but there is a strict exception for singular family members. Because sorella is a singular close family member, the article is dropped.

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