Questions & Answers about L’aereo atterra al tramonto.
Why is there an apostrophe in L’aereo?
In Italian, when the definite article il (masculine singular) comes before a word starting with a vowel, it elides the i and adds an apostrophe. So il aereo becomes l’aereo.
What is the verb atterra? How is it formed?
Atterra is the third-person singular present indicative of atterrare (to land). Conjugation for atterrare in the present tense goes:
io atterro
tu atterri
lui/lei atterra
noi atterriamo
voi atterrate
loro atterrano
Here l’aereo atterra means “the plane lands.”
Why use the present tense here? Wouldn’t past tense be more natural?
Italian often uses the present tense to talk about scheduled or habitual events, much like English timetables (“The train leaves at 9”). In context, L’aereo atterra al tramonto can mean “The plane lands at sunset” as a regular or planned occurrence. If you want to narrate a past event, you’d say L’aereo è atterrato al tramonto.
What does al mean in al tramonto?
Al is the contraction of the preposition a + the article il. So al tramonto literally means “at the sunset,” which in English we render simply “at sunset.”
Why is there a definite article before ? In English we just say “at sunset,” without “the.”