Il coniglio salta nel campo.

The rabbit jumps in the field.

Breakdown of Il coniglio salta nel campo.

• il coniglio: the rabbit
• nel: in
• saltare: to jump
• il campo: the field

Questions & Answers about Il coniglio salta nel campo.

Why does coniglio have il before it?

il is the masculine singular definite article meaning the. In Italian, every noun has a gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural), so you must use the correct article before the noun.

Why il and not lo or l’?

Italian selects the article form based on the first letter(s) of a noun:
• Use il before most consonants (e.g. il coniglio, il gatto).
• Use lo before s+consonant, z, ps, gn, etc. (e.g. lo studente, lo zio).
• Use l’ before vowels (e.g. l’amico, l’arancia).

Why does the verb end in -a in salta?

It’s the third person singular of the present indicative of saltare:
• io salto
• tu salti
• lui/lei salta
No subject pronoun is needed, because the verb ending tells you who is doing the action.

Could we say sta saltando instead of salta for “jumps”?

Italian does have a continuous form (stare + gerund), e.g. sta saltando, but:

1. The simple present (salta) is normally used for current or habitual actions.
2. The continuous form emphasizes ongoing action or is more colloquial.

What does nel mean and why is in combined with il?

nel = in + il = “in the.”
Italian frequently fuses prepositions (di, a, da, in, su) with definite articles (il, lo, la, le, i, gli), for example:
• in + il → nel
• su + i → sui

What is the difference between campo and prato?

Both refer to grassy areas, but:
• campo = field, usually agricultural or a large open area.
• prato = meadow or lawn, often smaller or decorative.

Can you drop the subject il coniglio and just say Salta nel campo?

Yes. Italian is a pro-drop language:
• You may omit the subject if the verb ending clearly indicates who is acting or if context makes it obvious.
• (Il) Coniglio salta nel campo and Coniglio salta nel campo are both grammatically correct, though including the article specifies which rabbit.

How do you pronounce coniglio?

coniglio is pronounced /ko-ˈniʎ-ʎo/:
• c = /k/ before o
• gli = palatal lateral approximant /ʎ/ (similar to Spanish ll in some dialects)
• o = /o/ as in “go”