Breakdown of Il corriere consegna i giornali in città ogni mattina.
ogni
every
la mattina
the morning
in
in
la città
the city
il giornale
the newspaper
consegnare
to deliver
il corriere
the courier
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Questions & Answers about Il corriere consegna i giornali in città ogni mattina.
What does corriere mean in this context? Is it the same as postino?
Corriere literally means “courier” or “delivery person.” In everyday Italian it often refers to someone who delivers newspapers. Postino, by contrast, is the person who delivers mail (letters and parcels), not newspapers.
Why is the verb consegna in this form?
Consegna is the third person singular present indicative of consegnare (“to deliver”). Because the subject is il corriere (he/it), you use consegna = “he delivers.”
Why is there a definite article before giornali, and why i?
Italian normally uses the definite article before plural nouns even when speaking generally. Here i is the masculine plural definite article used before most consonants. So i giornali = “the newspapers,” which in context means “newspapers” in general.
Why do we say in città rather than a città?
Certain fixed expressions for location use in. You say in città for “in town” or “in the city.” By contrast you use a with specific city names (for example, a Roma, a Milano).
Why is ogni mattina in the singular? Can we use the plural?
With ogni you always pair a singular noun: ogni mattina = “every morning.” If you prefer a plural form you can say tutte le mattine (“all the mornings”), which has essentially the same meaning.
Where can expressions like ogni mattina be placed in the sentence? Is the position fixed?
Time expressions in Italian are flexible. You can place ogni mattina at the beginning:
Ogni mattina, il corriere consegna i giornali in città.
or at the end:
Il corriere consegna i giornali in città ogni mattina.
Both are correct; moving it changes the emphasis slightly.
Why does città carry a grave accent, and how is it stressed?
The accent (
à) shows that the stress falls on the final syllable: cit-TÀ. Italian words stressed on the last syllable keep the accent mark in writing to signal that pronunciation.How is the gn in consegna pronounced?
The gn in Italian is a single sound like the “ny” in English canyon. So consegna is pronounced roughly con-SEH-nya.