Learn Italian: Londra, metropoli internazionale, è sempre molto affollata. - London, the international metropolis, is always very crowded.

Londra, metropoli internazionale, è sempre molto affollata.

London, the international metropolis, is always very crowded.

Breakdown of Londra, metropoli internazionale, è sempre molto affollata.

Questions & Answers about Londra, metropoli internazionale, è sempre molto affollata.

Why is there no article before metropoli? Shouldn't it be "la metropoli internazionale" like in English?

In Italian, when you use a noun phrase to define or describe a proper noun right next to it (an apposition), you must drop the definite article. While English says "London, the international metropolis", Italian requires Londra, metropoli internazionale.

The word metropoli ends in -i. Is it plural in this sentence?

No, metropoli is singular here. While most Italian words ending in -i are plural, metropoli is a feminine invariable noun (like crisi or oasi). Its singular and plural forms are identical. You can tell it is singular here because it refers to a single city (Londra) and pairs with the singular adjective internazionale.

Why does the adjective affollata end in -a?

It agrees with Londra. In Italian, cities are generally treated as feminine nouns, especially those that end in -a (like Londra or Roma). Therefore, the adjective describing the city must take the feminine singular ending.

Could I use "piena" instead of "affollata" to say the city is crowded?