Il cassiere conta le monete con grande velocità.

The cashier counts the coins with great speed.

Breakdown of Il cassiere conta le monete con grande velocità.

• con: with
• grande: great
• la moneta: the coin
• il cassiere: the cashier

Questions & Answers about Il cassiere conta le monete con grande velocità.

What does cassiere mean and what gender is this noun?

Cassiere means “cashier.” It’s a masculine singular noun; the feminine form is cassiera.

Why is there il before cassiere?

Il is the definite article for masculine singular nouns beginning with a consonant. It corresponds to English “the.”

What is the verb conta, and what tense/person is it?

Conta comes from contare (to count). It’s the third person singular present indicative, so it means “he/she counts.”

Why is le monete used here, and what role does it play in the sentence?

Le monete is the direct object (“the coins”). Le is the feminine plural definite article. In Italian, you normally use an article before countable nouns when referring to specific items.

Could you use delle monete or omit the article entirely?

Using delle monete would mean “some coins” (an indefinite quantity). Omitting the article entirely is uncommon in Italian for specific objects. Here we want le monete to refer to the actual coins the cashier is counting.