Learn Italian: Loro sono gli sviluppatori di questo nuovo software. - They are the developers of this new software.

Loro sono gli sviluppatori di questo nuovo software.

They are the developers of this new software.

Breakdown of Loro sono gli sviluppatori di questo nuovo software.

Questions & Answers about Loro sono gli sviluppatori di questo nuovo software.

Why do we use the article gli instead of i for the plural of sviluppatori?

Masculine nouns starting with an 's' followed by a consonant take the singular article lo (lo sviluppatore) and the plural article gli (gli sviluppatori).

Is the subject pronoun loro mandatory here?

It is not mandatory. In Italian, you can usually drop the subject pronoun and just say Sono gli sviluppatori... (They are the developers...). Including loro adds emphasis, pointing out that they are the developers, perhaps as opposed to someone else.

How do we know the gender and plural form of an English loanword like software?

English loanwords adopted into Italian are generally treated as masculine by default. They are also invariable, meaning they do not change their ending in the plural. You distinguish singular and plural only by the article and context: il software (singular) vs. i software (plural).

Why is nuovo placed before the noun software instead of after it?

While most descriptive adjectives in Italian follow the noun, a small group of common adjectives related to age, beauty, size, and goodness usually precede it. Nuovo is one of these exceptions, making questo nuovo software the most natural-sounding phrasing.