Stendo il lenzuolo sul prato.

I spread the sheet on the lawn.

Breakdown of Stendo il lenzuolo sul prato.

• io: I
• su: on
• il prato: the lawn
• il lenzuolo: the sheet

Questions & Answers about Stendo il lenzuolo sul prato.

Why is Stendo used and not Stendi?

Stendo is the first-person present tense form of the verb stendere (meaning “to spread out” or “to stretch out”). In Italian, the first-person singular (I spread out) ends in -o, while the second-person singular (you spread out) would be Stendi.

Why do we say sul prato instead of sullo prato?

Sul is a contraction of su + il. Because prato is a masculine noun starting with a consonant (il prato), we use il (so it becomes sul). We would say sullo if the next word were a masculine noun starting with “s” + a consonant or “z”, for example sullo sbaglio.

Is lenzuolo always masculine?

Lenzuolo is typically masculine in the singular (il lenzuolo) and can appear as a plural form le lenzuola (feminine) when referring to a set of sheets. This change from singular masculine to plural feminine is something that happens with a few Italian words, so it’s a bit unusual but perfectly correct.

Is stendere a reflexive verb?

No, stendere is not reflexive here. A reflexive verb in Italian would have a si attached, like stendersi (to lie down). But in this sentence, we’re talking about an action being done to something else (the sheet), so it’s a straightforward transitive verb.