Breakdown of L'alba nel villaggio è speciale.
essere
to be
in
in
il villaggio
the village
speciale
special
l'alba
the dawn
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Questions & Answers about L'alba nel villaggio è speciale.
Why is the phrase written as L'alba instead of La alba?
In Italian, if the definite article la is followed by a word beginning with a vowel, the a from la is dropped and replaced by an apostrophe. This is called an elision. So la alba becomes l'alba.
What does nel mean, and why is it used here?
Nel is a contraction of in + il, meaning “in the.” You use nel when the noun it refers to is masculine singular and requires the article il. Since villaggio is masculine singular, you say nel villaggio, literally “in the village.”
How do I pronounce è with the accent?
The accented è in Italian is a character that signifies an open “eh” sound (as opposed to é, which is a slightly different sound). Make a relaxed e with your mouth open a bit wider than in English.
Why is the verb è (is) used in this form?
È is the third-person singular present tense of the verb essere (to be), used with singular subjects. In this sentence, l’alba is the singular subject, so we say l’alba … è speciale.
What if I wanted to say something is “very special”? How would I modify “speciale”?
You can add molto before speciale, becoming molto speciale. This simply means “very special,” for example: L’alba nel villaggio è molto speciale.