Sulla mensola c’è anche la cassetta degli attrezzi, nel caso serva presto.

On the shelf there is also the toolbox, in case it is needed soon.

Breakdown of Sulla mensola c’è anche la cassetta degli attrezzi, nel caso serva presto.

• essere: to be
• su: on
• anche: also
• ci: there
• presto: soon
• la mensola: the shelf
• la cassetta degli attrezzi: the toolbox
• nel caso: in case
• servire: to need

Questions & Answers about Sulla mensola c’è anche la cassetta degli attrezzi, nel caso serva presto.

What does sulla mean, and how is it formed?

Sulla is the contraction of su (on) + la (the, feminine singular). In Italian, prepositions often merge with definite articles:

• su + la → sulla (on the, f. sg.)
  You use sulla because mensola (shelf) is feminine singular:
  “Sulla mensola” = “On the shelf.”

Why is there an apostrophe in c’è, and what does it stand for?

C’è comes from ci + è:

• ci here is an expletive/adverb meaning “there”
• è is the third-person singular of essere (to be)
  The apostrophe shows that the vowel i of ci and the vowel e of è merge:
  ci + è → c’è (“there is”).

Why is anche placed before la cassetta degli attrezzi? Could it go elsewhere?

Anche means “also” or “too,” indicating an additional item. In this sentence:

• Placing it before the noun phrase (“c’è anche la cassetta…”) focuses on “the toolbox, too.”
  You could also say “c’è la cassetta degli attrezzi anche,” but it’s less common and slightly more emphatic at the end.
  Position changes the nuance, but both convey that the toolbox is an extra thing on the shelf.

Why do we say cassetta degli attrezzi with degli? Can we omit it or say di attrezzi?

Here degli is di + gli (of the, masc. plural):

• attrezzi is plural (“tools”), whose article is gli
• di + gli → degli
  So cassetta degli attrezzi literally = “box of the tools.”
  You could hear cassetta di attrezzi in a very general sense (“a toolbox”), but using degli implies “the specific set of tools” and is more natural for “toolbox” as a fixed expression.

Why is serva in the subjunctive mood?

After expressions of condition or possibility like nel caso (“in case”), Italian uses the subjunctive to convey a hypothetical event.

• nel caso (che) serva = “in case (it) might be needed”
  The subjunctive serva shows that we’re talking about something that may or may not happen.

Why is there no che before serva in nel caso serva presto? Is it optional?

Yes. In spoken and even in many written contexts, you drop the conjunction che after nel caso:

• With che: “nel caso che serva presto…”
• Without che: “nel caso serva presto”
  Both are correct; omitting che makes the phrase more concise and idiomatic.

How do we know the subject of serva when there’s no pronoun?

In Italian, verbs can stand alone if context makes the subject clear. Here, the implied subject of serva is la cassetta degli attrezzi mentioned earlier.
“Sulla mensola c’è anche la cassetta…, nel caso serva presto.”
= “...in case the toolbox (implicitly) is needed soon.”

What does presto refer to, and why is it at the end?

Presto is an adverb meaning “soon” or “quickly.” It modifies serva (“is needed”), so it naturally follows the verb:

• “serva presto” = “is needed soon”
  Placing presto at the end keeps the verb-adverb order typical in Italian. Knowledge of this helps you position adverbs after the verbs they modify.