Ch 1 · Lesson 11Italian · Chapter 1 · Lesson 11 · Grammar primer
La vita, mio zio, nella casa: where the article goes
Italian keeps the article where English drops it, drops it before one relative with , and fuses it with a, , , in and .
The short version
Italian uses the article where English does not
.
Why?Hide
General statements, abstract nouns and most possessives take a definite article in Italian, where English leaves the noun bare. Dropping it is one of the most audible things a learner does, because to an Italian ear the bare noun sounds like a sentence that has been cut off partway.
Articles fused with prepositions
Five prepositions, , , , and , merge with a following definite article into one word. It is compulsory:
.- The book is in the bag..- I'm going to work..- The uncle's house.
The article inside each fusion follows the same / / choice, so and . The full chart is in articulated prepositions.
Where Italian uses an article and English does not
Italian puts the definite article in front of general statements, abstract nouns and most possessives:
| Italian | English | English has |
|---|---|---|
. | Life is beautiful. | no the |
. | Time is everything. | no the |
. | My house is here. | no the |
. | Their uncle is here. | no the |
The one tidy exception: a single family member with a possessive drops it. is my uncle is here, but the plural brings the article back ( , my uncles), and always keeps it ( ). Possessives has the rest.
Mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| z takes | |
| i | | s + consonant takes |
| , | | the vowel elides |
| case | | every feminine plural is |
| before z | |
| feminine shortens with an apostrophe | |
| è . | . | general statements take the article |
| one relative drops it |
Going further: The whole system on one screen and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
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Lesson 11 of 40 in this chapter