Breakdown of La zuppa di zucchine è stata servita molto calda.
di
of
molto
very
caldo
hot
la zuppa
the soup
servire
to serve
la zucchina
the zucchini
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Questions & Answers about La zuppa di zucchine è stata servita molto calda.
Why is there a definite article La before zuppa?
In Italian you generally use the definite article (il, la, lo, etc.) before both countable and uncountable nouns when you refer to something specific or known in context. Here, la zuppa means “the soup” that was served. Omitting the article (just saying Zuppa di zucchine) is possible in titles or menu listings, but in a sentence you normally include la.
Why is it zuppa di zucchine instead of zuppa con zucchine?
The preposition di in zuppa di zucchine indicates the soup’s main ingredient—“soup of zucchini.” Con (with) would also be grammatically correct (zuppa con zucchine) but is less idiomatic when naming dishes; Italians usually say zuppa di… for ingredient-based recipes.
Why is zucchine plural here?
Even if you chop a few zucchini for the soup, in Italian you treat the ingredient generically and usually use the plural for vegetables (especially when they come in pairs or bunches). So zucchine (plural) is more natural than zucchina (singular) when describing the main component of a soup.
What tense and voice is è stata servita, and why is it used?
È stata servita is the passato prossimo in the passive voice: essere (è stata) + past participle (servita). It literally means “has been served” or “was served.” You use this to emphasize the action received by the subject (la zuppa). In active voice you could say Hanno servito la zuppa molto calda (“They served the soup very hot”), but the passive highlights the soup itself.
Why is the past participle servita ending in -a instead of -o?
When you form a passive sentence with essere, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject. Here, the subject is la zuppa (feminine singular), so servita is feminine singular. If it were i piatti (masculine plural), you would say i piatti sono stati serviti.
Why does the adjective calda come after the noun zuppa?
In Italian, most descriptive adjectives follow the noun they modify. Zuppa calda is the normal word order for “hot soup.” Placing calda after zuppa emphasizes it as a quality of the soup, whereas some adjectives (like numbers or beauty-related ones) often precede the noun.
What is the role of molto before calda?
Molto is an adverb intensifying the adjective calda. Molto calda translates to “very hot.” You could also use molto after the verb (è stata servita molto calda) or replace it with molto synonyms (e.g., davvero, molto). You cannot, however, combine molto and another adverb before the adjective in the same way as English sometimes does.
Can you make the sentence stronger by using an adjective ending like -issima?
Yes. You could say La zuppa di zucchine è stata servita caldissima, using the superlative suffix -issima on caldo, to mean “the soup was served extremely hot.” That’s a common way to intensify adjectives in Italian without molto.