La targa dell’auto è sporca di fango dopo il temporale.

to be

Breakdown of La targa dell’auto è sporca di fango dopo il temporale.

• di: of
• dopo: after
• l'auto: the car

Questions & Answers about La targa dell’auto è sporca di fango dopo il temporale.

What does targa mean in this context?

Targa in Italian means license plate (the metal or plastic plate on a vehicle showing its registration number). It can also mean a plaque or award plate, but here it refers specifically to the car’s plate.

Why is it dell’auto and not just di auto?

Because Italian needs the definite article before auto. You combine di + l’ (the elided form of la before a vowel) to get dell’. So dell’auto = di + l’auto (“of the car”).

Is auto feminine or masculine? How can I tell?

Auto is feminine, since it’s a short form of automobile, which is feminine. In Italian, most truncations keep the original gender (e.g. foto from fotografia is feminine).

Could we say della auto instead of dell’auto?

No. When the article la is followed by a vowel, it becomes l’ and combines with di as dell’. della + auto would leave two vowels in a row (la auto), which Italian avoids by elision.