Breakdown of La profondità massima del cratere è un problema minore.
essere
to be
un
a / an (masculine)
il problema
the problem
del
of the; than the (di + il)
minore
lesser (younger, minor)
la profondità
the depth
massimo
maximum (greatest, highest)
il cratere
the crater
Questions & Answers about La profondità massima del cratere è un problema minore.
Why is it massima and not massimo?
massima is the feminine singular form of the irregular superlative massimo (greatest or maximum). It has to match the noun it describes, profondità, which is feminine because nouns ending in -tà are almost always feminine in Italian.
Why do we use minore here instead of minimo?
minore is the irregular comparative for piccolo (small), meaning lesser or minor. minimo is the absolute superlative, meaning least or minimum. Since the sentence talks about a minor problem rather than the absolute smallest problem, we use minore.
problema ends in -a, so why does it use the masculine article un?
Why do massima and minore come after their nouns here?
In Italian, adjectives generally follow the noun when they classify it or add a defining fact. Here, massima specifies the exact type of depth, and minore classifies the category of the problem, so they naturally follow the noun.
Learn La profondità massima del cratere è un problema minore and more in Italian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free