Breakdown of Vedo un cane enorme in giardino.
io
I
il cane
the dog
vedere
to see
in
in
il giardino
the garden
enorme
huge
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Questions & Answers about Vedo un cane enorme in giardino.
What does vedo mean and what tense is it?
Vedo is the first-person singular present tense of vedere, meaning to see. It corresponds to I see in English.
Why do we say un cane instead of il cane?
un is the indefinite article for masculine singular nouns, equivalent to a (or an) in English.
- un cane = a dog (any dog)
- il cane = the dog (a specific dog)
Why is the adjective enorme placed after the noun? Can it appear before?
Italian adjectives normally follow the noun (e.g., cane enorme, casa bella). You can place some adjectives like enorme before the noun for emphasis (un enorme cane), but the neutral, everyday order is noun + adjective.
Does enorme change with gender or number?
Adjectives ending in -e have the same form for both masculine and feminine singular. They only change to -i in the plural:
• un cane enorme, una casa enorme (singular)
• due cani enormi, due case enormi (plural)
Why is it in giardino instead of al giardino or nel giardino?
When referring to a general location, Italian often uses in without the article: in giardino, in cucina, in ufficio.
- nel giardino (in + il) specifies a particular garden you’ve already mentioned.
- al giardino (a + il) implies movement to the garden (e.g., vado al giardino).
Can I omit the article and say Vedo cane enorme?
No. Singular countable nouns in Italian require an article or another determiner (un, il, questo, etc.). Omitting it (vedo cane enorme) is ungrammatical.
Could I use a different adjective like grande or a superlative like grandissimo?
Yes. grande means big, while enorme means huge.
- For a milder sense: un cane grande
- For a superlative: un cane grandissimo (very big)