Breakdown of L’elettricità è tornata dopo la tempesta, per fortuna il frigo non si è scongelato.
non
not
dopo
after
la tempesta
the storm
l'elettricità
the electricity
tornare
to come back
per fortuna
luckily
il frigo
the fridge
scongelarsi
to defrost
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Questions & Answers about L’elettricità è tornata dopo la tempesta, per fortuna il frigo non si è scongelato.
Why is there a grave accent on è in both è tornata and si è scongelato? Could it be written without it?
The accent distinguishes the verb essere (“to be”) in the 3rd person singular or as an auxiliary in compound tenses from the conjunction e (“and”). Writing è (with a grave accent) always means “he/she/it is” or “has …,” whereas e (no accent) means “and.” Omitting the accent would change the meaning and make the sentence ungrammatical.
Why do we say L’elettricità instead of just elettricità or la elettricità?
- In Italian, abstract nouns like elettricità normally take the definite article.
- Because elettricità begins with a vowel, la contracts to l’ to avoid the hiatus.
So you write l’elettricità (“the electricity”), never simply elettricità in this context, and never la elettricità without elision.
Why is it dopo la tempesta and not dopo tempesta?
Most Italian prepositions that govern nouns require the definite article, except in a few fixed expressions or with proper names. Here “the storm” is a normal noun phrase, so you need la: dopo la tempesta (“after the storm”). Omitting the article would sound wrong to a native speaker.
What does per fortuna mean, and why is it placed at the start of the second clause?
Per fortuna is an adverbial expression meaning “fortunately” or “luckily.” Placing it at the beginning of the clause highlights the speaker’s relief or gratitude. It doesn’t need a conjunction; it simply links the idea of power returning to the good outcome for the fridge.
Why is it il frigo instead of just frigo, and why not il frigorifero?
- Frigo is the common colloquial short form of frigorifero.
- In Italian, when talking about a concrete object in general, you normally include the definite article: il frigo = “the fridge.”
Saying just frigo without il would sound like you’re listing items or speaking in headlines, not in a full sentence.
Could we say ha scongelato instead of si è scongelato?
No, because ha scongelato would mean “someone defrosted it” (transitive, with a direct object). The sentence means “the fridge thawed by itself,” so you need the unaccusative/reflexive form scongelarsi. Thus si è scongelato literally means “it thawed itself” (i.e. it melted/spoiled on its own).
Why are we using the passato prossimo (è tornata, si è scongelato) and not the passato remoto?
In modern spoken and most written Italian, the passato prossimo is used for past events that are recent, relevant to the present, or in everyday narration. It corresponds roughly to the English present perfect (“has returned”) but often functions like a simple past. Passato remoto is more common in literary or historical narratives.
Why is tornata feminine? How do we know electricity is “female”?
Italian nouns have grammatical gender. Elettricità ends with –tà, a typical feminine ending, so it’s a feminine noun. Because tornare uses essere in compound tenses, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject: l’elettricità è tornata (not tornato).