Sto nuotando nel fiume vicino alla montagna, e l’acqua è molto fredda.

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Breakdown of Sto nuotando nel fiume vicino alla montagna, e l’acqua è molto fredda.

• essere: to be
• l'acqua: the water
• vicino: near
• in: in
• molto: very
• e: and
• nuotare: to swim
• il fiume: the river
• la montagna: the mountain
• freddo: cold

Questions & Answers about Sto nuotando nel fiume vicino alla montagna, e l’acqua è molto fredda.

Why is Sto nuotando used in this sentence instead of just Nuoto?

In Italian, the construction stare + gerundio (for example, sto nuotando) emphasizes that the action is happening right now. Using nuoto (present indicative) would be correct too, but it can sound less immediate and can imply a habitual action, rather than an ongoing one.

What does nel mean?

Nel is a contraction of in (in) + il (the). So nel means in the. Here, it’s used before fiume (river), a masculine singular noun that takes the article il.

Why is it vicino alla montagna and not vicino al montagna?

Montagna is a feminine noun, so it uses the feminine article la. When adding a (to) and la (the) together, we get alla. That’s why it’s vicino alla montagna (near the mountain) instead of vicino al montagna, which would be incorrect.

How do I know if I should say molto or molti?

Molto can function as both an adjective and an adverb. When it means very, it doesn’t change form (it’s an adverb). When it means many or a lot of, it acts like an adjective and must agree in gender and number with the noun, becoming molti (masculine plural), molte (feminine plural), etc. In this sentence, molto fredda uses molto as an adverb meaning very, so it remains unchanged.

Why is fredda used instead of freddo?

Acqua is a feminine noun in Italian, so any adjectives that describe it must also use the feminine form. Freddo is the masculine form, and fredda is the feminine form, which matches acqua.