La visura catastale contiene i dati catastali.

Questions & Answers about La visura catastale contiene i dati catastali.

Why does the sentence start with la?

La is the feminine singular definite article, meaning the.

Here it goes with visura, which is a feminine singular noun:

  • la visura = the property/land registry report

Italian nouns have grammatical gender, so the article has to match the noun:

  • il for many masculine singular nouns
  • la for many feminine singular nouns

So la visura catastale is grammatically correct because visura is feminine singular.

Why is catastale placed after visura?

In Italian, adjectives often come after the noun, much more often than in English.

So:

  • visura catastale literally follows the pattern report cadastral
  • natural English reverses that order

This noun + adjective order is completely normal in Italian, especially in formal or technical language.

Why is it contiene and not some other form of the verb?

Contiene is the third-person singular form of contenere (to contain).

The subject is la visura catastale, which is singular, so the verb must also be singular:

  • la visura catastale contiene = the report contains

A quick comparison:

  • io contengo = I contain
  • tu contieni = you contain
  • lui/lei contiene = he/she/it contains
  • loro contengono = they contain

Since the subject is one report, contiene is the correct form.

Why does the sentence use i dati?

Dati is the plural of dato.

So:

  • il dato = the datum / piece of data
  • i dati = the data

Because dati is masculine plural, the article must also be masculine plural:

  • i = the for many masculine plural nouns

So:

  • i dati catastali = the cadastral data
Why do we see catastale and catastali? What is the difference?

They are the same adjective, but in different forms so that they agree with different nouns.

Italian adjectives usually agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

Here is what is happening:

  • visura is feminine singular
    → catastale
  • dati is masculine plural
    → catastali

So:

  • visura catastale = singular adjective form
  • dati catastali = plural adjective form

This is a very important feature of Italian grammar: adjectives change form to match the noun.

Why is catastali repeated? Can Italian repeat the same adjective like that?

Yes, absolutely. The repetition is normal and natural here.

The adjective catastale/catastali describes two different nouns:

  • visura catastale
  • dati catastali

Even though English might sometimes avoid repeating a similar word for style reasons, Italian technical language often repeats terms very directly for clarity.

In a bureaucratic or legal context, this kind of repetition is especially common.

Can the word order be changed?

Yes, but the original order is the most neutral and standard.

Normal order:

  • La visura catastale contiene i dati catastali.

You might sometimes see emphasis changes in other contexts, but this sentence is already in the most straightforward order:

  • subject + verb + object

That makes it the best version for a dictionary-style, explanatory, or official sentence.

Do I have to use the articles la and i here?

Normally, yes.

Italian uses definite articles more often than English does. In this sentence, both articles sound natural and expected:

  • la visura catastale
  • i dati catastali

If you removed them, the sentence would sound incomplete or unnatural in ordinary Italian:

  • Visura catastale contiene dati catastali ❌

That kind of article omission might happen only in very special contexts like titles, labels, or note-taking, not in a normal sentence.

Is this a formal or technical sentence?

Yes, it sounds fairly formal and bureaucratic/technical.

Words like:

  • visura
  • catastale
  • dati catastali

belong to property, land registry, and administrative language.

A native speaker would understand it, but it does not sound like casual everyday conversation. It sounds like something you might read:

  • on a government website
  • in a property document
  • in an informational guide about real estate paperwork
How is visura catastale pronounced?

A simple pronunciation guide:

  • visura → vee-ZOO-ra
  • catastale → ka-ta-STA-le

Approximate full sentence:

  • La visura catastale contiene i dati catastali
  • la vee-ZOO-ra ka-ta-STA-le kon-TYE-ne ee DA-ti ka-ta-STA-lee

A couple of useful notes:

  • c before o in contiene is a hard k sound
  • ti in contiene is pronounced like tye
  • the stress in catastale falls on sta
Is data in Italian the same as English data?

Related, yes, but be careful.

In this sentence, dati is the plural of dato, meaning:

  • pieces of information
  • data

But Italian data also exists as a separate word meaning date on a calendar:

  • la data = the date

So:

  • il dato / i dati = datum / data
  • la data / le date = date / dates

This is a common point of confusion for English speakers.

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