Bevo l’acqua del fiume.

I drink the water from the river.

Breakdown of Bevo l’acqua del fiume.

• io: I
• di: of
• bere: to drink
• il fiume: the river

Questions & Answers about Bevo l’acqua del fiume.

Why is the subject pronoun omitted in Bevo l’acqua del fiume?

Italian is a “pro‑drop” language, which means subject pronouns (like io for “I”) are often left out because the verb ending already tells you who’s doing the action. Here, bevo ends in ‑o, so you know it’s first‑person singular. You could say Io bevo l’acqua del fiume, but it’s redundant and less natural.

Why is it l’acqua and not la acqua?

The singular definite article la elides before any vowel. So instead of la acqua, you contract to l’ + acqua → l’acqua. This elision happens for both feminine and masculine nouns starting with a vowel (e.g. l’amica, l’uomo).

How do I know that acqua is feminine? Are there exceptions?

Most Italian nouns ending in ‑a are feminine (e.g. casa, portata). However, some ‑a nouns of Greek origin (like problema, programma) are masculine.
Tips to guess gender:

• ‑a → usually feminine.
• ‑o → usually masculine.
• ‑e → can be either; check a dictionary.
  When in doubt, learn the article with the noun: l’acqua.

Why do we use the definite article l’ before acqua here? Could we say Bevo acqua del fiume?