Learn Italian: Tutta la classe ha superato l'esame. - The whole class passed the exam.

Tutta la classe ha superato l'esame.

The whole class passed the exam.

Breakdown of Tutta la classe ha superato l'esame.

Questions & Answers about Tutta la classe ha superato l'esame.

Since a class has many students, why does the verb use the singular "ha" instead of the plural "hanno"?

This sentence features a collective noun (la classe). In Italian, collective nouns for groups of people like la classe, la famiglia, or la gente take strict singular agreement. Because la classe is grammatically singular, the verb must be the singular ha superato, even though the word implies multiple people.

Why use "superato" instead of "passato" for passing an exam?

While you might hear passare un esame in casual speech, superare un esame (literally "to overcome an exam") is the standard and most natural way to say you passed a test in Italian.

Why is it "Tutta la classe" rather than "Tutto la classe"?

The word tutto (all/whole) changes its ending to match the gender and number of the noun it modifies. Because classe is a feminine singular noun, tutto becomes tutta. Also notice that Italian always keeps the definite article (la) between tutta and the noun.

How can I remember that "classe" is feminine when it ends in "-e"?