Learn Italian: L'estate qui è molto calda.

L'estate qui è molto calda.

Summer here is very hot.

Breakdown of L'estate qui è molto calda.

Questions & Answers about L'estate qui è molto calda.

Why is there an L' before estate when the English translation just says "Summer"?

In Italian, seasons generally require a definite article (the equivalent of "the"). Because the feminine word estate starts with a vowel, the article la drops its "a" and becomes l'. So Italians are literally saying "The summer here is very hot."

Why does calda end in -a? And wait, doesn't that word mean "cold"?

Watch out for this classic trap! The word caldo (or calda) actually means "hot", while "cold" is freddo. It ends in -a here because it describes l'estate, which is a feminine word. Since l'estate is singular and feminine, the adjective must match it with a feminine singular ending.

Since calda is feminine, why doesn't molto change to molta to match it?

In this sentence, molto is acting as an adverb meaning "very" to describe how hot it is. When molto means "very", it is fixed and never changes its ending. It only changes endings to match a noun when it means "a lot of" or "many" (for example, molta pasta).

How do you say the other three seasons in Italian?