Breakdown of Lo sportello automatico è vicino all’ufficio postale.
essere
to be
vicino a
near
lo sportello automatico
the ATM
l’ufficio postale
the post office
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Questions & Answers about Lo sportello automatico è vicino all’ufficio postale.
Why is it lo sportello automatico instead of il sportello automatico?
Because Italian uses lo before masculine singular nouns starting with s + consonant (like sportello), z, gn, ps, pn, x, y. Il is used before most other consonants.
What exactly does sportello automatico mean?
Literally it’s “automatic counter/desk,” but in everyday Italian it means an ATM (Automated Teller Machine).
Why is automatico placed after sportello instead of before it?
In Italian most descriptive adjectives follow the noun. Putting automatico after sportello is the normal word order for a descriptive adjective.
Why do we say vicino all’ufficio postale instead of vicino l’ufficio postale?
The adjective vicino requires the preposition a when indicating proximity, so you need a + the definite article. Here a + l’ (the) contracts to all’ before a vowel.
What’s the apostrophe doing in all’ufficio?
It marks the elision of a + il, which would otherwise be a il ufficio. Italian drops the i and writes all’ufficio.
Could we say vicino dell’ufficio postale instead?
No. Vicino always takes a, not di. Di indicates possession or origin; a is the correct preposition for “near.”
Is postale a noun or adjective in this sentence?
It’s an adjective modifying ufficio. The noun is ufficio (“office”), and postale specifies “postal,” giving you “post office” as ufficio postale.