Learn Italian: Il direttore stesso ha spiegato il problema. - The director himself explained the problem.

Il direttore stesso ha spiegato il problema.

The director himself explained the problem.

Breakdown of Il direttore stesso ha spiegato il problema.

the manager / the director

spiegare

to explain

Questions & Answers about Il direttore stesso ha spiegato il problema.

Why is stesso placed after direttore instead of before it?

When stesso comes immediately after a noun or pronoun, it acts as an intensifier meaning himself, herself, or itself. Because it follows direttore, it means the director himself. If it came before the noun (lo stesso direttore), it would mean the same director.

Could I use medesimo here instead of stesso?

Yes, you could say Il direttore medesimo. Medesimo works exactly the same way as stesso to add emphasis, though it tends to sound slightly more formal or literary in everyday conversation.

If the director were female, how would this sentence change?

You would need to change the noun, the article, and the ending of the adjective stesso to match the feminine gender. The sentence would become La direttrice stessa ha spiegato il problema.

Why does problema take the masculine article il when it ends in -a?

Problema is a classic exception that trips up learners. It is one of several words of Greek origin ending in -ma that are masculine in Italian, despite looking feminine. Other common examples include il sistema (the system) and il programma (the program).