Learn Italian: No, il padre non è stanco. - No, the father is not tired.

No, il padre non è stanco.

No, the father is not tired.

Breakdown of No, il padre non è stanco.

Questions & Answers about No, il padre non è stanco.

Why are there two negative words (No and non) in this sentence?

When answering a yes/no question negatively in Italian, you usually need both. The first No answers the question, just like in English. Then you add non (not) right before the verb to make the rest of the statement negative.

How would you ask the yes/no question that this sentence is answering?

You just take the positive statement (Il padre è stanco) and raise your pitch at the end of the sentence: Il padre è stanco? (Is the father tired?). You don't need to swap the subject and verb to make a question like we do in English.

Could I say il padre è non stanco to match the English word order "the father is not tired"?

No, because the Italian negative word non must always go immediately before the verb it modifies. Since the verb is è (is), you must say non è (literally "not is").

Why does stanco end in an -o?

Because it describes il padre (the father), which is a masculine singular noun. If you were answering a question about the mother, you would change the ending of the adjective to match the feminine noun: No, la madre non è stanca.