Appendo il quadro sopra il divano.

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Breakdown of Appendo il quadro sopra il divano.

• il divano: the sofa
• appendere: to hang
• il quadro: the painting

Questions & Answers about Appendo il quadro sopra il divano.

Why is appendo used here and what is its infinitive form?

Appendo is the first person singular (io) present indicative of the verb appendere, which means “to hang.”
Infinitive: appendere
Conjugation in the present tense:

• io appendo
• tu appendi
• lui/lei appende
  …
  Knowing this lets you say “I hang,” “you hang,” etc., in Italian.

Why do we say il quadro and il divano instead of omitting the articles?

In Italian, singular countable nouns typically require an article—definite (il, la) or indefinite (un, una).

• il quadro = “the painting”
• il divano = “the couch/sofa”
  You can’t drop the article the way you sometimes do in English (“I hang painting above couch” is ungrammatical in Italian).

What does the preposition sopra mean here, and how is it different from su?

Both sopra and su can mean “on” or “above,” but they carry a slight nuance:

• su is more general (“on,” “onto,” “upon”).
• sopra often emphasizes “directly above” or “over” something, not necessarily touching it.
  In our sentence, sopra il divano implies the painting hangs on the wall just above the couch, not resting on it.