Le spezie danno un sapore speciale ai piatti semplici.

the dish

Breakdown of Le spezie danno un sapore speciale ai piatti semplici.

• il sapore: the flavor
• dare: to give
• semplice: simple
• speciale: special
• al: to

Questions & Answers about Le spezie danno un sapore speciale ai piatti semplici.

What does Le spezie mean in this sentence?

Le spezie translates to "the spices" in English. The word "le" is the feminine plural definite article used with "spezie," which is the plural form of "spezia" meaning "spice." It establishes the subject of the sentence.

Why is the verb danno used, and what does it convey?

Danno is the third person plural form of the verb dare (to give). It agrees with the plural subject le spezie and translates as "give" in English. This shows that the spices have the action of imparting or giving something.

What does un sapore speciale mean, and why is the indefinite article un used here?

Un sapore speciale means "a special flavor." The indefinite article un is used with the masculine singular noun sapore (flavor) because flavor, in this context, is being introduced as a new or unspecified quality given by the spices. The adjective speciale (special) agrees in gender and number with sapore.

What does the contraction ai stand for in the phrase ai piatti semplici?

Ai is a contraction of the preposition a (to) and the plural definite article i (the for masculine nouns). So, ai piatti semplici translates to "to the simple dishes," indicating the recipients of the special flavor.

How do the adjectives speciale and semplici agree with the nouns they modify?

In un sapore speciale, the adjective speciale is masculine singular, matching the noun sapore. In ai piatti semplici, semplici is the masculine plural form, agreeing with piatti. Italian adjectives must match the gender and number of the nouns they describe, which is why they appear in these specific forms.

What is the overall sentence structure, and how does it compare to English word order?

The sentence follows a typical Subject-Verb-Object order:
• Subject: Le spezie (the spices)
• Verb: danno (give)
• Direct Object: un sapore speciale (a special flavor)
• Prepositional Phrase: ai piatti semplici (to the simple dishes)

While English and Italian share this basic order, note that in Italian the adjectives usually come after the noun (e.g., sapore speciale rather than special flavor), which is a notable difference from English.