Breakdown of Il volo precedente è stato cancellato a causa della nebbia.
essere
to be
il volo
the flight
precedente
previous
cancellare
to cancel
a causa di
because of
la nebbia
the fog
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Italian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Il volo precedente è stato cancellato a causa della nebbia.
Why is the adjective precedente placed after the noun volo instead of before?
In Italian most adjectives follow the noun they modify. Placing precedente after volo (volo precedente) is the neutral, standard order. If you said precedente volo, it would sound unusual or poetic.
How is the passive voice formed in Il volo precedente è stato cancellato…?
This sentence uses the present perfect passive. The structure is:
- Auxiliary essere in the present tense (è)
- Past participle of the verb (cancellato)
- Optional agent introduced by da (omitted here) So è stato (present of essere + past participle stato) + cancellato (participio of cancellare).
Why does the sentence use è stato cancellato instead of a simple past like cancellò or just cancellato?
- È stato cancellato is the compound passive (present perfect passive) common in spoken and formal Italian.
- Cancellò is the passato remoto (simple past) in active voice, not passive.
- You can’t drop the auxiliary in Italian the way English can. For a passive you always need essere plus the participle.
What does a causa della mean, and why is della used here?
- A causa di means “because of” or “due to.”
- When the following noun is feminine singular with its article (la nebbia), di + la contracts to della.
- Hence a causa della nebbia = “because of the fog.”
Could you use per instead of a causa di in this context?
Yes, you can say:
- Il volo precedente è stato cancellato per la nebbia. or even more briefly
- Il volo precedente è stato cancellato per nebbia. but a causa di is slightly more formal and unambiguous.
Why is there a definite article before nebbia (i.e. la nebbia)?
Weather nouns in Italian commonly take the definite article when discussed in general:
- la pioggia, la neve, la nebbia.
Leaving it out (e.g. per nebbia) is understandable but less typical in a full sentence.
Could we use ultimo instead of precedente for “previous flight”?
You could say l’ultimo volo, but:
- ultimo literally means “last” (final in a sequence).
- precedente means “preceding” (the one immediately before). Often they’re interchangeable, but precedente emphasizes “the one right before this.”
How is the past participle cancellato formed, and does it agree with volo?
- Cancellato is the regular past participle of cancellare (drop –are, add –ato).
- In a passive sentence the participle agrees in gender and number with the subject:
• il volo (masculine singular) → cancellato
• i voli (masculine plural) → cancellati
• la corsa (feminine singular) → cancellata, etc.