L'aiuto del mio amico è prezioso.

My friend's help is precious.

Breakdown of L'aiuto del mio amico è prezioso.

• essere: to be
• l'amico: the friend
• mio: my
• del: of
• prezioso: precious
• l'aiuto: the help

Questions & Answers about L'aiuto del mio amico è prezioso.

Why is there an apostrophe in L'aiuto instead of writing Il aiuto?

In Italian, the definite article il can drop the i when it is followed by a word beginning with a vowel. This is called elision, and helps with pronunciation. So il aiuto becomes l'aiuto.

What does del mean in this sentence?

Del is a contraction of di + il, meaning of the in English. Here, l'aiuto del mio amico literally translates to the help of my friend.

Why do we say del mio amico instead of di mio amico?

When using di (meaning of) in front of a masculine singular noun with the article il, it contracts to del. Because amico is masculine singular, we use il, and thus di + il becomes del.

When should I use mio instead of il mio for possession?

In Italian, possessive adjectives generally require a definite article (like il mio, la mia, etc.) except in a few cases, such as referring to family members in the singular (e.g., mio padre). However, in this sentence it’s plural possession usage (or a non-family context), so del mio amico is correct.

Is prezioso always placed after the noun?

Most Italian adjectives typically follow the noun, though there are exceptions. Prezioso can appear before or after the noun, but it’s more common to place it after, as in l'aiuto è prezioso. Changing the position might be used for stylistic reasons or slightly altered emphasis.