Breakdown of Il quaderno, poi, viene messo nella cassaforte insieme ai documenti.
mettere
to put
in
in
poi
then
il documento
the document
il quaderno
the notebook
la cassaforte
the safe
insieme a
together with
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Italian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Il quaderno, poi, viene messo nella cassaforte insieme ai documenti.
What is the meaning and function of poi, and why is it set off by commas?
poi means “then” or “afterward.” It’s an adverb indicating chronological sequence. The commas mark it as a parenthetical element, creating a slight pause and emphasizing the step in the action.
Why is the sentence in the passive voice with viene messo instead of an active form?
Using viene messo (third-person present passive of mettere) shifts focus onto il quaderno as the recipient of the action rather than the person who puts it there. In Italian, the passive is formed with an auxiliary plus past participle.
How exactly do you form the passive in Italian, and could you use essere instead of venire?
There are two common strategies:
- venire
- past participle (e.g. viene messo) – often used to describe events.
- essere
- past participle (e.g. è messo) – more stative, less dynamic.
Both are grammatically correct, but venire-passives feel more like “an action is happening.”
- past participle (e.g. è messo) – more stative, less dynamic.
What is nella? How does it derive from in and la?
nella is the contraction of in (in) + la (the, feminine singular). In Italian, prepositions often merge with the definite article: in + la → nella (‘in the’).
Why do we say insieme a and not insieme con or insieme di?
The standard collocation is insieme a meaning “together with.”
- insieme con does appear colloquially but is less formal.
- insieme di is incorrect, because insieme requires a to link people or things.
Why is it ai documenti rather than a i documenti or agli documenti?
a + i (plural masculine definite article) contracts to ai.
- a i is never used.
- agli would be a
- gli, but gli is the form of the article after certain consonants (e.g. gli amici), not before documenti.
Could you omit the commas around poi, and would the meaning change?
Yes, you can write Il quaderno poi viene messo… without commas. The meaning stays the same; the commas simply add a parenthetical pause and slight emphasis on the sequence.
Why is il quaderno placed at the very beginning of the sentence?
In passive constructions, the logical object becomes the grammatical subject, so it naturally comes first. Here, starting with il quaderno highlights what is being placed in the safe.