L’impiegato chiude la porta dell’ufficio ogni sera.

to close

Breakdown of L’impiegato chiude la porta dell’ufficio ogni sera.

• la porta: the door
• di: of
• ogni: every

Questions & Answers about L’impiegato chiude la porta dell’ufficio ogni sera.

Why is L’impiegato used instead of Il impiegato?

In Italian, the masculine singular definite article il contracts to l’ and takes an apostrophe when it precedes a noun that starts with a vowel. Since impiegato begins with i, il impiegato becomes l’impiegato. This contraction (elision) smooths pronunciation.

What does dell’ in dell’ufficio stand for?

Dell’ is a contraction of the preposition di + the definite article l’. It literally means “of the” before a singular noun starting with a vowel. So dell’ufficio = di + l’ufficio = “of the office.”

How do I know which form of di + article to use (del, dello, dell’, dei, degli)?

Choose based on gender, number, and initial sound of the noun:

• Masculine singular + consonant (not s+consonant, z, gn, ps, x): del (di + il).
• Masculine singular + vowel: dell’ (di + l’).
• Masculine singular + s+consonant, z, gn, ps, x: dello (di + lo).
• Masculine plural + vowel or special clusters: degli (di + gli).
• Masculine plural + other consonants: dei (di + i).
• Feminine singular + consonant: della (di + la).
• Feminine singular + vowel: dell’ (di + l’).
• Feminine plural: delle (di + le).