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Mio padre è cocciuto, ma mio nonno non lo è.

Mio padre è cocciuto, ma mio nonno non lo è.
My father is stubborn, but my grandfather is not.
From Lesson 449:Replacing adjectives and nouns (lo)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Mio padre è cocciuto, ma mio nonno non lo è.

Why is lo needed here? Can't I just say non è like in English ("is not")?
In English, we can drop the adjective and just say "is not." Italian doesn't let you leave the verb essere (to be) hanging like that. You must use the pronoun lo to represent the missing adjective (cocciuto). It literally translates closer to "my grandfather is not it."
If the sentence was about my mother and grandmother, would lo change to la?
No, it stays exactly the same! When lo is used as a "pro-predicative" pronoun (replacing an adjective or a descriptive noun after the verb essere), it is invariable. So, even if the sentence was Mia madre è cocciuta, ma mia nonna non lo è, you still use lo.
Why isn't there an article before mio padre and mio nonno?
As a quick refresher: Italian drops the definite article (il, la, etc.) before possessive adjectives when you are talking about singular, unmodified family members. If they were plural, you would need the article (like i miei nonni).
I usually see testardo for "stubborn". Is cocciuto used the same way?
Yes, cocciuto and testardo are virtually identical in meaning. Both are very common ways to say someone is stubborn or hard-headed.

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