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Combining Prepositions With Articles – Part 4. Posted by on Dec 6, 2016 in Grammar

In today’s exercise, we’re going to focus on combining the Italian definite articles il, lo, la, i, gli, and le (the) with the preposition ‘ in‘ (in, to).

We’ll begin by reviewing how we construct these preposizioni articolate (preposition/article combinations). This will be followed by an exercise that requires you to fill in the blanks in the Italian text. You’ll find the answers hidden at the end of the blog.

il = masculine singular, e.g. il caffè, il negozio. Combined with ‘in‘ = nel

lo = masculine singular, used before ‘s’ plus a consonant, ‘z’, or a vowel, e.g. lo stadio, lo zoo. N.B. lo becomes l’ before a vowel, e.g. l’albergo. Combined with in= nello or nell

la = feminine singular, e.g. la padella, la piscina. Combined with ‘in‘ = nella. N.B. la becomes l’ before a vowel, e.g. l’aranciata. Combined with ‘in‘ = nell

i = masculine plural, e.g. i caffè, i negozi. Combined with ‘in‘ = nei

gli = masculine plural, used before ‘s’ plus a consonant, ‘z’, or a vowel e.g. gli stadi, gli zoo, gli alberghi. Combined with ‘in‘ = negli

le = feminine plural, e.g. le padelle, le piscine, le aranciate. Combined with ‘in‘ = nelle

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Se vuoi vedere un fungo enorme devi andare ___ bosco sopra Casalina. Photo by Geoff

Exercise

Now fill in the gap in the Italian sentences with the correct preposizione articolata:

The engineer went into the studio a moment ago
L’ingegnere è appena entrato ___ studio

Do you put sugar in your coffee?
Ci metti lo zucchero ___ caffè?

Granddad found grandma’s false teeth in the lasagne
Il nonno ha ritrovato la dentiera della nonna ___ lasagne

If you want to see a huge fungus you have to go to the woods above Casalina
Se vuoi vedere un fungo enorme  devi andare ___ bosco sopra Casalina

In the vegetable garden there are only a few cabbages left
___ orto ci sono rimasti solo alcuni cavoli

Pour the wine into the glasses, please
Versa il vino ___ bicchieri, per favore

“Where is the torch?” “In the rucksack”
“Dov’è la torcia?” “___ zaino”

Omelettes come out better in the non-stick frying pan
La frittata viene meglio ___ padella antiaderente

Throw the spaghetti in the boiling water
Buttare gli spaghetti ___ acqua bollente

Giovanni will go to the United States next Monday
Giovanni andrà ___ Stati Uniti lunedì prossimo

Have you put some oregano in the soup?
Hai messo dell’origano ___ zuppa?

Gianna has seemed quite tired lately
___ ultimi tempi Gianna è sembrata molto stanca

Click here to reveal the answers

The engineer went into the studio a moment ago
L’ingegnere è appena entrato nello studio

Do you put sugar in your coffee?
Ci metti lo zucchero nel caffè?

Granddad found grandma’s false teeth in the lasagne
Il nonno ha ritrovato la dentiera della nonna nelle lasagne

If you want to see a huge fungus you have to go to the woods above Casalina
Se vuoi vedere un fungo enorme  devi andare nel bosco sopra Casalina

In the vegetable garden there are only a few cabbages left
Nell’orto ci sono rimasti solo alcuni cavoli

Pour the wine into the glasses, please
Versa il vino nei bicchieri, per favore

“Where is the torch?” “In the rucksack”
“Dov’è la torcia?” “Nello zaino”

Omelettes come out better in the non-stick frying pan
La frittata viene meglio nella padella antiaderente

Throw the spaghetti in the boiling water
Buttare gli spaghetti nell’acqua bollente

Giovanni will go to the United States next Monday
Giovanni andrà negli Stati Uniti lunedì prossimo

Have you put some oregano in the soup?
Hai messo dell’origano nella zuppa?

Gianna has seemed quite tired lately
Negli ultimi tempi Gianna è sembrata molto stanca

Any questions? Feel free to leave a comment.

P.S. If you’re browser or app doesn’t allow you to see the answers let me know and I’ll post them in the comments section.

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Comments:

  1. jphn Kewley:

    Why is your text so small?
    6.5 points is unreadable on an average screen.
    Please come up to 8 points or even 10.

    • Geoff:

      @jphn Kewley Salve, the problem must be at your end. The smallest typeface in our blogs is 12pt, and we use 16pt for the paragraph headings. I’ve personally seen our blog on many different computers and phones and the typeface is as it should be. No other reader has ever flagged up a problem with the typeface being too small. Check your own device settings, va bene?

      Saluti da Geoff

  2. Joan Engelhaupt:

    Wow! Good thing this has been in four parts, because I think I’m finally getting it–only missed two this time! But I have a question on this one: “Buttare gli spaghetti nell’acqua bolente”. Is it always OK to use the infinitive for imperative (buttare instead of butta/butti)? Would sure be easier!

    • Phil:

      @Joan Engelhaupt Joan,

      If I remember correctly, the infinitive is often used in lists of instructions (like recipes) rather than the imperative.

      Phil

    • Serena:

      @Joan Engelhaupt Salve Joan! The infinitive is used for more generic instructions such as recipes, road signs, instruction booklets, etc. If you are talking to somebody you need to use the imperative.
      Saluti da Serena


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