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L'aeroporto chiude presto.

L'aeroporto chiude presto.
The airport closes early.
FromLesson 31inHardcore Italian

Breakdown of L'aeroporto chiude presto.

chiudere
to close
presto
early
l'aeroporto
the airport

Questions & Answers about L'aeroporto chiude presto.

Why is there an apostrophe in l’aeroporto instead of il or la?
Italian contracts the singular definite articles il (masculine) and la (feminine) before nouns starting with a vowel into l’, dropping the vowel and inserting an apostrophe.
Why do we need a definite article before aeroporto at all? In English we often say just “airport.”
Italian uses definite articles more broadly. With generic or institutional nouns—like aeroporto, scuola, ospedale—the article is normally mandatory, even when speaking in general.
Why is the verb chiude in the present tense? Wouldn’t “closes” sound odd if it’s a future event?
Both English and Italian use the simple present to talk about scheduled or habitual events. L’aeroporto chiude presto states a regular timetable or general fact: “The airport closes early.”
What part of speech is presto, and what does it mean here?
Presto is an adverb modifying chiude; here it means “early” (i.e. at an early hour).
I’ve also seen presto used to mean “soon.” Is that the same word?
Yes, it’s the same adverb. Context tells you whether it means “early” (time of day) or “soon” (in a short while). In this sentence, “early” is the natural reading.
Could I say L’aeroporto chiude in anticipo instead of presto?
You can, but it shifts the nuance: chiude in anticipo implies “closes ahead of schedule,” whereas chiude presto simply means “closes early” (relative to a typical closing time).
How do you pronounce chiude?
It’s pronounced [ˈkju.de]. The ch is a hard “k” sound, so it comes out roughly like “KYOO-deh.”
Can I invert the order and say Chiude presto l’aeroporto?
Yes. Italian allows subject–verb inversion for emphasis or stylistic reasons. That word order highlights the action (“closes early”) before revealing the subject.
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