Breakdown of L’ufficio del municipio è chiuso il sabato pomeriggio.
essere
to be
di
of
il pomeriggio
the afternoon
chiuso
closed
l’ufficio
the office
il municipio
the municipality
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Questions & Answers about L’ufficio del municipio è chiuso il sabato pomeriggio.
Why is there an apostrophe in L’ufficio?
In Italian when the masculine article il meets a vowel-starting word like ufficio, the i is dropped and replaced by an apostrophe: il ufficio → l’ufficio. This is called elision.
Why do we say del municipio instead of di il municipio?
Italian contracts di + il into del. So di il municipio becomes del municipio. Similarly, a + il → al, su + il → sul, etc.
What’s the difference between municipio and comune? Could I say l’ufficio del comune?
Municipio usually refers to the town hall building or its municipal offices. Comune can mean the municipality as an administrative district or the local council. You can say l’ufficio del comune to refer more generally to the municipal office, but l’ufficio del municipio emphasizes the town hall itself.
Why is the verb form è chiuso used here?
È chiuso is the present tense of essere + the past participle chiuso, forming a stative passive, meaning “it is in a closed state.” It describes the office’s condition, not the action of closing.
Couldn’t we say l’ufficio chiude il sabato pomeriggio?
L’ufficio chiude would mean “the office closes on Saturday afternoon” (active verb). It focuses on the action of closing at that time. È chiuso stresses that it remains closed during that period.
Why is there a definite article il before sabato pomeriggio?
In Italian, using the definite article with days of the week expresses a habitual or recurring situation: il sabato pomeriggio = “on Saturday afternoons (regularly).” Without it, you lose that habitual nuance.
Can I drop the il and just say sabato pomeriggio or use ogni sabato pomeriggio?
You can say ogni sabato pomeriggio (“every Saturday afternoon”) to be explicit. Omitting il is possible in casual speech, but the article is more idiomatic for routines: l’ufficio è chiuso sabato pomeriggio sounds slightly less natural.
Why is it pomeriggio in the singular, not plural (pomeriggi)?
When you use the singular with il for habitual expressions, you treat the time period as a recurrent block rather than counting separate events. Il sabato pomeriggio encapsulates the whole Saturday afternoon period each week. Using plural (i sabati pomeriggio) is grammatically possible but less common.