In Italian, il is a definite article that translates to the in English. It is used specifically for masculine singular nouns. Italian, like many languages, has different articles depending on the gender and number of the noun, and il is one of the forms used for masculine singular words.
For example:
“Il libro” – The book
“Il cane” – The dog
In both cases, il is used because libro (book) and cane (dog) are masculine singular nouns.
It’s worth noting that Italian has other forms of the definite article, such as lo, la, i, gli, and le, which are used depending on the gender, number, and starting letter of the noun. But il is the most common form for masculine singular nouns starting with a consonant.
For example:
“Il ragazzo è alto.” – The boy is tall.