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Questions & Answers about Il traffico causa il ritardo.
What does Il traffico mean in English?
It means the traffic. The noun traffico is masculine, and the definite article il indicates that we're referring to specific, known traffic.
What does causa signify in this sentence?
Causa is the third person singular form of the verb causare, which means "to cause." In this sentence, it shows that the subject (the traffic) is causing the object (the delay).
What does il ritardo translate to in English?
Il ritardo translates directly as the delay. Here, ritardo is a masculine noun, and the definite article il confirms its gender and specificity.
How is the structure of the sentence "Il traffico causa il ritardo." similar to its English translation?
Both Italian and English use a subject-verb-object order here. In Italian, il traffico (subject) comes first, followed by causa (verb), and then il ritardo (object), which corresponds directly to the English "The traffic causes the delay."
Why are definite articles used before both traffico and ritardo?
In Italian, definite articles like il are used to indicate that the speaker is referring to specific, known entities. In this sentence, il traffico and il ritardo imply that both the traffic and the delay are particular and identifiable in the given context.
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