Breakdown of Io lavo i piatti nel lavandino.
io
I
in
in
lavare
to wash
il piatto
the dish
il lavandino
the sink
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Questions & Answers about Io lavo i piatti nel lavandino.
What does lavo mean, and what is its tense and conjugation?
Lavo is the first-person singular form of the verb lavare in the present indicative tense, meaning I wash. The ending -o indicates that the subject is io (I), even though the subject pronoun is optional in Italian.
Is it necessary to include the subject pronoun Io at the beginning of the sentence?
No, it isn’t strictly necessary. In Italian, the verb conjugation already indicates the subject, so Io can be omitted. However, it is often included for emphasis or clarity, just as in this sentence.
Why is i piatti used instead of just piatti, and what does it signify?
I piatti translates to the dishes. Italian typically uses the definite article with nouns, even for objects like dishes. Here, i is the masculine plural definite article, specifying a particular set of dishes.
How is the phrase nel lavandino constructed, and what is its meaning?
Nel lavandino is formed by combining the preposition in with the definite article il to create the contraction nel (in + il), meaning in the. Lavandino means sink, so the phrase translates to in the sink.
Does the word order in this sentence differ significantly from English word order?
Not really. The sentence follows a subject–verb–object structure—Io (subject), lavo (verb), i piatti (object)—and then adds the locative phrase nel lavandino, similar to the English sentence I wash the dishes in the sink.