Breakdown of L'ingresso del parco è pulito.
essere
to be
di
of
pulito
clean
il parco
the park
l’ingresso
the entrance
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Questions & Answers about L'ingresso del parco è pulito.
Why is there an apostrophe in L’ingresso? Could I say Il ingresso instead?
In Italian, when the masculine singular article il comes before a word starting with a vowel, you must elide the vowel of the article and replace it with an apostrophe. So il ingresso becomes l’ingresso. Writing Il ingresso without the apostrophe is incorrect in standard Italian.
What does del stand for in del parco?
Del is a contraction of the preposition di + the masculine singular article il. Thus del parco literally means of the park (i.e. “the park’s”).
Why is pulito placed after è, and not just attached to the noun as in ingresso pulito?
Here pulito is a predicative adjective linked by the copular verb essere (“to be”), so it must follow the verb: L’ingresso… è pulito (“The entrance … is clean”). If you use it attributively (directly modifying the noun), you still place it after: un ingresso pulito (“a clean entrance”).
Does pulito change form to agree with ingresso?
Yes. Italian adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Ingresso is masculine singular, so the adjective is pulito. For a feminine entrance (entrata), it would be pulita, and in the plural you’d have puliti or pulite as needed.
Can I say L’entrata del parco è pulita instead of using ingresso?
Yes. Both ingresso and entrata can mean “entrance,” but ingresso often refers to the entrance area or foyer, while entrata highlights the act of entering or the doorway itself. If you use entrata, remember it’s feminine, so you’d say L’entrata del parco è pulita.
What’s the difference between L’ingresso del parco and L’ingresso al parco?
- L’ingresso del parco = “the park’s entrance,” emphasizing possession (the entrance belonging to the park).
- L’ingresso al parco = “the entrance to the park,” focusing on the access point you use to go into the park.
In casual speech they often overlap, but the preposition shift changes the nuance slightly.
How do you pronounce L’ingresso del parco è pulito?
Phonetically: [linˈɡrɛsso del ˈparko ɛ puˈlito].
In an English-friendly spelling: leen-GRESS-so del PAR-co eh poo-LEE-to, with primary stress on GRESS, PAR, and LEE.