Modello l'argilla con le mani.

I shape the clay with my hands.

Breakdown of Modello l'argilla con le mani.

• con: with
• la mano: the hand
• l'argilla: the potter's clay
• modellare: to shape; model

Questions & Answers about Modello l'argilla con le mani.

Why isn’t there a subject pronoun like io?

Because Italian often drops the subject pronoun when it is clear from the verb ending.

Here, modello ends in -o, which tells you the subject is I. So:

• Modello l'argilla con le mani. = I model the clay with my hands.

You could say Io modello l'argilla con le mani, but io would usually add emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

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What form is modello?

Modello is the 1st person singular present indicative of modellare.

So it means:

• I model
• I shape
• I mold

Depending on context, the Italian present tense can also correspond to English I am modeling / shaping / molding.

Be aware that modello can also be a noun in other contexts, meaning model, but in this sentence it is clearly a verb.

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Why is it l'argilla and not la argilla?