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Questions & Answers about L'acqua bolle nella pentola.
Why is L' used before acqua, and what happened to la?
Because acqua begins with a vowel, Italian drops the a in la and replaces it with an apostrophe: la acqua → l'acqua. This elision makes pronunciation smoother.
Why can't I say Acqua bolle nella pentola without L'?
In Italian, even when talking generically, you normally use the definite article before singular nouns. So you say L'acqua bolle..., not Acqua bolle.... Omitting the article sounds ungrammatical.
What tense and person is bolle, and which verb does it come from?
Bolle is the third-person singular present indicative of the verb bollire (to boil). The full present-tense conjugation is:
io bollo, tu bolli, lui/lei bolle, noi bolliamo, voi bollite, loro bollono.
Could I use a continuous/progressive form like “the water is boiling”?
Yes. You can say L'acqua sta bollendo, using the present of stare + gerund (bollendo). However, Italians often prefer the simple present (bolle) when stating that water boils now or in general.
Why is it nella pentola instead of in la pentola?
Italian contracts certain prepositions with the definite article. in + la becomes nella. This combination (preposition + article) is called a preposizione articolata.
Can I drop the article in nella pentola, saying in pentola?
Usually not for a specific container. When you mean “in the pot,” you need the article. Omitting it (in pentola) sounds unnatural unless you’re using a fixed technical phrase—most everyday speech requires nella pentola.
If the container were masculine, how would the contraction change?
You would use nel (in + il) for masculine singular. For example: Il riso cuoce nel tegame (“The rice cooks in the pan”).