Aspetto alcuni minuti nel giardino.

I wait a few minutes in the garden.

Breakdown of Aspetto alcuni minuti nel giardino.

• io: I
• il giardino: the garden
• nel: in
• il minuto: the minute
• aspettare: to wait
• alcuni: a few

Questions & Answers about Aspetto alcuni minuti nel giardino.

Why is alcuni used here, rather than pochi?

In Italian, alcuni generally means some or a few, while pochi means few in the sense of expressing a small number or an insufficiency. Saying alcuni minuti focuses on the idea of an unspecified but not necessarily small quantity of minutes, whereas pochi minuti suggests a smaller amount or a short time, perhaps shorter than the speaker might want.

How does aspetto translate into English? Is it closer to I wait or I am waiting?

Italian doesn’t have a separate continuous tense like English. The simple present tense aspetto can mean I wait, I am waiting, or even I will wait (in a near-future context depending on the situation). It’s the context that clarifies whether it’s an ongoing action or a habitual one. If you really want to emphasize the ongoing action, you can use sto aspettando, but aspetto alone is completely acceptable in natural speech.

Why is nel used before giardino?

Nel is a contraction of in + il (in + the). You use nel when something takes place or exists inside a specific, enclosed space—here, the garden. If it were more general (not necessarily enclosed or defined), you might see in giardino, but nel is perfectly correct when you mean in the garden as a well-defined place.

Could I say Aspetto alcuni minuti al giardino instead?

That would sound a bit off to a native speaker. Al giardino implies to the garden or something related to an action directed toward the garden, not waiting inside it. Since the sentence indicates a person waiting inside the garden, nel giardino (or in giardino) is the correct choice.

Does alcuni agree with minuti in gender and number?

Yes, alcuni is the masculine plural form of this adjective, matching the masculine plural noun minuti. If you were referring to a feminine plural noun (e.g., ore), you would use alcune. This must always align in both gender and number with the noun it modifies.