Compro un formaggio francese al mercato.

I buy a French cheese at the market.

Breakdown of Compro un formaggio francese al mercato.

• io: I
• comprare: to buy
• il mercato: the market
• al: at
• il formaggio: the cheese
• francese: French

Questions & Answers about Compro un formaggio francese al mercato.

What does compro mean in this sentence?

Compro is the first‐person singular present indicative of comprare, so it means I buy or I am buying. In Italian the simple present often covers both the English simple (“I buy”) and continuous (“I am buying”) senses. If you really want to highlight that it’s happening right now, you can use sto comprando instead.

Why is un used before formaggio? Could I drop the article like in English?

Un is the masculine singular indefinite article (“a” in English), required before a singular, countable noun like formaggio. Italian normally needs an article with singular count nouns—you can’t simply say “compro formaggio” to mean “I buy cheese.” If you want to express “some cheese” more generally, use the partitive: del formaggio francese.

When do I use un versus uno for masculine nouns?

Use un before most masculine singular nouns (even those starting with a vowel), for example un amico, un formaggio. Use uno before masculine nouns that begin with s+consonant, z, ps, gn, x or y, for example uno studente, uno zucchero, uno psicologo.

Why does the adjective francese follow formaggio, and why doesn’t it change in the singular?

Descriptive adjectives in Italian usually come after the noun: formaggio francese. Adjectives ending in -ese (like francese, inglese, giapponese) are invariable for both genders in the singular; the plural for all is -esi (e.g. formaggi francesi, vini francesi).

What does al mean here, and why not just a or in?

Al is a contraction of a + il, so literally to the or at the (masculine singular). Al mercato means at the market. You don’t say a il mercato, and in mercato is not idiomatic. (If you needed “in the market” you’d say nel mercato, but the normal phrase for shopping or buying is al mercato.)

Can I change the word order and say Al mercato compro un formaggio francese?

Yes. Italian allows moving the location to the front for emphasis. Al mercato compro un formaggio francese still means “I buy a French cheese at the market,” but with more focus on where you buy it.