Breakdown of Il coniglio salta nel giardino.
in
in
il giardino
the garden
il coniglio
the rabbit
saltare
to jump
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Questions & Answers about Il coniglio salta nel giardino.
What does each word in the sentence mean?
• Il means "the" (masculine singular definite article).
• coniglio means "rabbit."
• salta is the third person singular form of the verb saltare, meaning "jumps."
• nel is a contraction of in + il, translating to "in the."
• giardino means "garden."
So, the full sentence translates as "The rabbit jumps in the garden."
Why is the preposition and article written as nel instead of in il?
In Italian, when the preposition in is immediately followed by the definite article il, they contract to form nel. This contraction makes the sentence flow more smoothly. It’s a standard grammatical rule that applies consistently.
How is the verb salta conjugated, and what tense does it represent?
Salta is the third person singular present indicative form of the verb saltare, which means "to jump." Since it is in the present tense, it indicates that the rabbit is jumping right now.
Why are definite articles used for both coniglio and giardino?
Definite articles in Italian (like il) specify that you are talking about particular or previously known items. In this sentence, il coniglio indicates a specific rabbit, and the contraction nel giardino implies the specific garden being referred to. This is similar to using "the" in English.
Can the word order of the sentence be changed without altering its meaning?
While Italian generally follows a subject–verb–object order, word order can sometimes be flexible for emphasis. However, for simple statements like "Il coniglio salta nel giardino," the standard order is preferred for clarity and is typical for beginner learners. Once you become more comfortable with Italian, you can experiment with word order to convey different nuances.