Question 1

Why is it buon instead of buono before esempio?

Accepted Answer

The adjective buono changes its shape depending on the noun it comes before. For masculine singular nouns starting with a vowel, like esempio, it drops the final -o and becomes buon. It actually follows the exact same pattern as the word un!

Question 2

Should there be an apostrophe after buon since esempio starts with a vowel?

Accepted Answer

No apostrophe is needed here because esempio is masculine. You only use an apostrophe with the feminine form when it drops its vowel before another vowel (for example, una buon'amica). For masculine words, it is always just buon.

Question 3

I thought adjectives usually go after the noun in Italian. Why is buon before esempio?

Accepted Answer

You are right that most descriptive adjectives go after the noun. However, a small group of very common adjectives, including buono (good), bello (beautiful), and bravo (skilled), usually come before the noun.

Question 4

The word esempio is masculine and ends in -o, so why does utile end in -e?

Accepted Answer

The word utile belongs to a group of adjectives that naturally end in -e in their singular dictionary form. These adjectives do not change between masculine and feminine, so utile is the correct singular form whether it describes a masculine word or a feminine one.

Question 5

Why doesn't molto change its ending to agree with the noun?

Accepted Answer

In this sentence, molto means very and is acting as an adverb to modify the adjective utile. Adverbs never change their endings. The word molto only changes its ending (to molta, molti, etc.) when it acts as an adjective meaning much or many directly before a noun.

Un buon esempio è molto utile.

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