Metto il libro sul tavolo.

I put the book on the table.

Breakdown of Metto il libro sul tavolo.

• io: I
• su: on
• il tavolo: the table
• mettere: to put

Questions & Answers about Metto il libro sul tavolo.

Why do we say metto instead of something like metti or mette?

In Italian, metto is the first-person singular form (io metto) of the verb mettere, meaning I put.
• metti would be the second-person singular (tu metti) – you put.
• mette would be the third-person singular (lui/lei mette) – he/she/it puts.

How come there’s no io before metto?

Italian is a pro-drop language, so native speakers often omit the subject pronoun (in this case io) when it’s clear from the verb’s ending. It’s grammatically correct either way to say io metto or simply metto.

Why is it il libro instead of something like un libro?

Il is a definite article (the book), so it could mean you’re referring to a specific book. If you used un (an indefinite article), it would imply any book, not a particular one.

Why do we say sul and not su il?

In Italian, the preposition su (on) contracts with the article il into sul. Similar contractions occur with other articles as well:
• su + lo → sullo
• su + la → sulla
• su + gli → sugli
… and so on.