Learn Hardcore Italian: In primavera le giornate si allungano e il giardino diventa colorato. - In spring the days get longer and the garden becomes colorful.

In Italian, when you talk about seasons you almost always use the preposition in + season: in primavera, in estate, in inverno, in autunno. Saying a primavera or omitting the preposition would sound unnatural or regional.

What’s the difference between giorno and giornata, and why do we have le giornate here?

Both words mean “day,” but:

giorno often refers to the 24-hour period or a point in time (“un giorno speciale”).
giornata emphasizes the duration or the activities over the course of that day (“una lunga giornata”).
Since we’re talking about how the length of daylight changes, giornate (plural of giornata) is more idiomatic.

Why is there si in si allungano? Is this reflexive or something else?

Here si is the “passive/impersonal si.” It makes the verb allungare (“to lengthen”) intransitive, so the sentence means “the days get longer” without specifying who is doing the lengthening. Grammatically it’s like saying “days lengthen themselves,” but functionally it’s a neutral “the days are getting longer.”

Why is allungano in the third person plural?

Because le giornate is feminine plural, the verb agrees in person and number: third person plural → allungano.

Why is the article il used before giardino instead of un or no article at all?

In Italian we generally use the definite article when speaking about something in a general or habitual sense—even if it’s your own garden. Saying il giardino here means “the (in-general) garden,” not necessarily a specific new garden. Using un giardino would imply “some garden I happened upon,” which isn’t the intended meaning.

Why is the adjective colorato singular masculine? Shouldn’t it match giornate?

The adjective colorato modifies giardino, which is masculine singular (il giardino), so it takes the masculine singular form. If you were describing le giornate, you would say giornate colorate (feminine plural), but here colorato agrees with giardino.

Why do we use diventa instead of a passive construction like “viene colorato”?

Diventare + adjective expresses a change of state (“become colorful”), which is more natural here. A construction like viene colorato would be a true passive (“is colored by someone”), implying an agent doing the coloring, rather than a natural transformation.

Can we change the word order, for example put in primavera at the end?

Yes, Italian is flexible:
– Le giornate si allungano in primavera
– Il giardino diventa colorato in primavera
Both are correct, but leading with in primavera emphasizes the time frame right away.