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L’umidità nella sala d’attesa è alta, quindi accendono il ventilatore.

L’umidità nella sala d’attesa è alta, quindi accendono il ventilatore.
The humidity in the waiting room is high, so they switch on the fan.
FromLesson 31inHardcore Italian

Questions & Answers about L’umidità nella sala d’attesa è alta, quindi accendono il ventilatore.

What does the apostrophe in L’umidità indicate?
The apostrophe shows elision: umidità begins with a vowel, so la (the feminine article) drops its “a” and becomes l’. Hence la umidità → l’umidità.
Why is umidità feminine, and why do we say è alta instead of è alto?
All Italian nouns ending in -ità are feminine. Adjectives must agree in gender and number with their noun, so alto (masculine) becomes alta (feminine) to match umidità.
How is nella formed, and why can’t we say in la sala?

Nella is a contraction of in + la. Italian folds prepositions and definite articles together: • in + il → nel
• in + la → nella
So in la sala is ungrammatical; you must use nella sala.

Why do we write sala d’attesa with d’ instead of di attesa?
Here d’ is the elided form of di before the vowel a in attesa. It literally means “room of waiting.” Therefore sala d’attesa = sala di attesa, but the apostrophe is obligatory.
What role does è alta play in this sentence?
Here è alta is the predicate (“is high”) describing the subject l’umidità. In English it’s like saying “the humidity is high.” The adjective follows the verb essere (to be) to form a subject complement.
How does quindi connect the clauses, and could we use another word?

Quindi is a coordinating conjunction meaning “so” or “therefore,” introducing the consequence of high humidity. You often set it off with a comma. Synonyms include perciò and pertanto. You could also start the second clause with it:
“L’umidità… è alta. Quindi accendono il ventilatore.”

Who is the implied subject of accendono, and why is loro omitted?
The verb accendono is 3rd person plural (“they turn on”). Italian usually drops subject pronouns when the verb ending makes the person clear. Here it means “(they) turn on the fan,” referring to whoever is in the waiting room.
Why is the definite article il used before ventilatore, and when could we say un ventilatore instead?
Il ventilatore refers to the specific fan in that waiting room (“the fan”). If you meant “they turn on a fan” (any fan), you’d use the indefinite article: accendono un ventilatore. Definite vs. indefinite depends on whether you’re talking about a known object or just any one.
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