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Il design è la sua grande passione.

Il design è la sua grande passione.
Design is his great passion.
From Lesson 289:Abstract nouns from adjectives (il bello, il nuovo)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Il design è la sua grande passione.

Why do we say il design with an article when English just says 'Design'?
In Italian, when you talk about a broad, abstract concept or a general category, you must use the definite article. Even though design is a borrowed English word, it follows the Italian rule of needing il when discussed as a general subject.
The translation says 'his great passion', so why is it la sua instead of il suo?
This is a classic trap! In Italian, possessives always agree with the gender and number of the thing being owned, not the owner. Since passione is a feminine singular noun, you must use la sua, regardless of whether the passion belongs to a man or a woman.
Why is the adjective grande placed before passione instead of after it?
While most descriptive adjectives in Italian go after the noun, a few common ones like grande frequently go before it. When grande is placed before the noun, it takes on a figurative meaning of 'great' or 'important', which fits perfectly for describing a passion.
How do we know to use the masculine article il with the English word design?
As a general rule in Italian, foreign loanwords are treated as masculine by default. Unless the borrowed word refers to something inherently feminine, you will use masculine articles and adjectives with it.

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