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Sento il vento freddo sul collo.

Sento il vento freddo sul collo.
I feel the cold wind on my neck.
FromLesson 28inHardcore Italian

Breakdown of Sento il vento freddo sul collo.

io
I
su
on
freddo
cold
il vento
the wind
sentire
to feel
il collo
the neck

Questions & Answers about Sento il vento freddo sul collo.

What does sento mean in this sentence?
Sento is the first-person singular present indicative of sentire. Here it means “I feel” in a physical/sensory sense (not “I hear”).
Why isn’t there a preposition before il vento? Shouldn’t we say something like “di vento”?
When sentire describes a direct sensory experience—what you literally feel on your body—it takes a direct object. You just say sentire qualcosa without adding a preposition.
Why do we use the definite article il before vento freddo?
In Italian, sensations and experiences often appear with the definite article even when we speak in general. Saying sento il vento freddo treats the wind as a specific phenomenon you’re feeling at that moment.
Why does the adjective freddo follow the noun vento?
The default word order for descriptive adjectives in Italian is after the noun: vento freddo. You can place some adjectives before the noun for stylistic emphasis, but post-noun is standard.
What does sul collo mean and how is it formed?
Sul is the contraction of su + il, literally “on the.” Collo means “neck,” so sul collo = “on the neck” (in English, “on my neck”).
Could we use al collo instead of sul collo?
Both are possible. Sul collo emphasizes something resting on or brushing the surface of your neck. Al collo (“to/at the neck”) is also idiomatic (e.g. un colpo d’aria al collo), but might slightly shift the nuance from “on the surface” to “in that area.”
Can we drop the article and say just su collo?
No. Italian normally requires the definite article with body parts and in these kinds of locative expressions: you need su + il/lo/la → sul/​sullo/​sulla.
Are there other verbs we could use instead of sentire for this meaning?

Yes. You could say avvertire or percepire:
• Avverto il vento freddo sul collo tends to sound a bit more formal.
• Percepisco il vento freddo sul collo likewise is correct but often used in more descriptive or technical contexts.

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