Il gatto si nasconde dietro il divano.

the cat

Breakdown of Il gatto si nasconde dietro il divano.

• il divano: the sofa
• dietro: behind
• nascondersi: to hide

Questions & Answers about Il gatto si nasconde dietro il divano.

What does the reflexive pronoun si indicate in this sentence?

In this sentence, si is used with the reflexive verb nascondersi. It shows that the subject (the cat) is performing the action on itself—essentially, "hiding itself." In English, we usually just say "hides" without an explicit reflexive pronoun.

What is the tense and form of the verb nasconde?

Nasconde is the third person singular form of the present indicative of the reflexive verb nascondersi. It indicates an action happening in the present, so it can be translated as "hides" or "is hiding."

Why do we use the definite article il before both gatto and divano?

In Italian, il is the masculine singular definite article, equivalent to "the" in English. Both gatto (cat) and divano (sofa) are masculine singular nouns, so they are preceded by il.

What is the function of the word dietro in the sentence?

Dietro is a preposition that means "behind." It is used here to specify the location of the cat relative to the sofa, similar to how "behind" functions in English.

How does the word order in this Italian sentence compare to English word order?