Learn Italian: Questi cantieri non sono più un problema. - These construction sites are no longer a problem.

Non ... più means "not anymore" or "no longer". In Italian, you "wrap" these words around the verb. Here, you put non before the verb sono (are) and più immediately after it, giving you non sono più (are no longer).

Why is it un problema and not una problema if it ends in an -a?

Most Italian words ending in -a are feminine, but problema is a famous exception! It comes from Greek, and many Italian words of Greek origin that end in -ma (like il sistema or il programma) are actually masculine. Therefore, it takes the masculine article un.

Why do we use questi for "these" instead of queste?

The word for "these" must match the gender of the noun it describes. Because cantieri (construction sites) is a masculine plural noun, we must use the masculine plural questi. If the noun were feminine plural, we would use queste.

What exactly are cantieri?

Cantieri (singular: cantiere) refers to construction sites, building sites, or roadworks. It is a very common word in everyday Italian conversation, especially when complaining about traffic delays or urban renovations!