Learn Italian: Ha una buona relazione con i suoi colleghi. - He has a good relationship with his colleagues.

Ha una buona relazione con i suoi colleghi.

He has a good relationship with his colleagues.

Breakdown of Ha una buona relazione con i suoi colleghi.

the relationship; the report

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Questions & Answers about Ha una buona relazione con i suoi colleghi.

Wait, the singular is collega, which ends in -a. Why is the plural colleghi rather than colleghe?

Collega is a noun that can be masculine (il collega) or feminine (la collega). Since we are referring to a mixed group or all-male group of colleagues, we use the masculine plural i colleghi. The h is added to keep the hard 'g' sound from the singular. The feminine plural would be le colleghe.

Why do we need the article i in i suoi colleghi?

In Italian, possessive adjectives almost always require a definite article before them. The main exception is for singular close family members (like mio padre). Since colleagues aren't family members, the article i is required here.

Why is buona placed before the noun relazione?

While most descriptive adjectives follow the noun in Italian, very common adjectives expressing fundamental qualities like goodness (buono), beauty (bello), or size (grande) typically precede the noun.

How do we know Ha means 'He has' rather than 'She has'?

By itself, we don't! Because Italian frequently drops subject pronouns, Ha could just as easily mean 'She has' or 'You (formal) have'. The translation provides 'He has' based on wider context not visible in this single sentence.