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Alla biglietteria del cinema c'è una coda lunga, quindi aspettiamo fuori.

Alla biglietteria del cinema c'è una coda lunga, quindi aspettiamo fuori.
At the cinema ticket office there is a long queue, so we wait outside.
FromLesson 26inHardcore Italian

Questions & Answers about Alla biglietteria del cinema c'è una coda lunga, quindi aspettiamo fuori.

Why is it alla biglietteria instead of a la biglietteria?
In Italian, prepositions + definite articles contract. a + la → alla, so alla biglietteria means “at the ticket office.”
What’s the role of del cinema?
del is the contraction of di + il (“of the”). So del cinema = “of the cinema” or “the cinema’s.”
Why do we use c’è and not ci sono?
c’è (= ci è) is used with singular nouns. Since una coda is singular, we say c’è una coda. For plural (due code) you’d use ci sono.
Why is lunga placed after coda, rather than before?
Most descriptive adjectives in Italian follow the noun (noun + adjective). coda lunga is the neutral word order. Placing lunga before (e.g. lunga coda) adds emphasis or a poetic tone.
Can we use fila instead of coda for “line”?
Yes. Both coda and fila mean “line/queue.” coda is very common for people waiting, while fila can also refer to rows (e.g. of seats). In everyday speech they’re often interchangeable.
What does fuori mean here, and why is there no article?
fuori is an adverb meaning “outside.” Adverbs don’t take articles. Therefore aspettiamo fuori = “we’ll wait outside.”
Is the comma before quindi required?
No, it’s stylistic. The comma before quindi helps signal the cause–effect relationship (“so”), but omitting it wouldn’t be ungrammatical.
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