Il marciapiede davanti a casa è scivoloso quando piove.

to be

Breakdown of Il marciapiede davanti a casa è scivoloso quando piove.

• la casa: the house
• quando: when
• davanti a: in front of
• piovere: to rain
• il marciapiede: the sidewalk
• scivoloso: slippery

Questions & Answers about Il marciapiede davanti a casa è scivoloso quando piove.

What does marciapiede mean in this sentence?

Marciapiede translates to sidewalk. It refers to the paved path along a street that pedestrians use.

What is the meaning of davanti a casa, and why is casa used without an article?

Davanti a casa means in front of the house. In Italian, when referring to one’s home, the word casa is often used without an article to express a general sense of “home” rather than a specific building. This idiomatic construction is common in everyday speech.

How does the adjective scivoloso agree with the noun in this sentence?

Scivoloso means slippery and acts as the predicate adjective that describes marciapiede. In Italian, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Since marciapiede is masculine singular, scivoloso is also in its masculine singular form.

What does the clause quando piove indicate, and why is the form piove used?

Quando piove means when it rains. It introduces a temporal condition specifying the time during which the sidewalk is slippery. The verb piove is the third person singular form of piovere, an impersonal verb used for weather expressions, which does not require an explicit subject.

Are there any differences in word order or structure between this Italian sentence and its English translation?

Yes. Both Italian and English generally follow a subject–verb–complement order in this sentence. However, Italian often places locative phrases like davanti a casa immediately after the subject, and it uses idiomatic constructions (such as omitting the article with casa) that differ from English. Additionally, weather expressions in Italian use impersonal verb forms (e.g., piove) that do not require an explicit subject, unlike in English where “it” is used.