Learn Hardcore Italian: La lampada portatile illumina il giardino la sera. - The portable lamp illuminates the garden in the evening.

Because la lampada portatile refers to a specific, known lamp (“the portable lamp”), whereas una lampada portatile would introduce it for the first time or speak of any portable lamp in general (“a portable lamp”). Italian uses definite articles (il, la, i, le) for known/specific items and indefinite articles (un, una) for non‐specific items.

Why is the adjective portatile placed after the noun lampada?

In Italian the default position for most descriptive adjectives—especially longer ones like portatile—is after the noun. Saying lampada portatile is the neutral, idiomatic word order. Putting portatile before the noun (e.g. portatile lampada) sounds odd or poetic.

Does portatile change for gender and number?

Portatile ends in -e, so it’s invariable for gender but variable for number:
• Singular (masculine or feminine): portatile
• Plural (masc. or fem.): portatili
Thus: la lampada portatile, le lampade portatili, un computer portatile, due computer portatili.

Why is the verb illumina in the third-person singular present tense?

The subject is la lampada (she/it), so you use the third-person singular of illuminare:
io illumino
tu illumini
lui/lei illumina ← here
noi illuminiamo
voi illuminate
loro illuminano

Why isn’t there a preposition between illumina and il giardino?

Illuminare is a transitive verb, meaning it takes a direct object without any preposition. You say illumina il giardino just as you say mangia la mela or legge il libro.

Why do we say il giardino instead of just giardino?

Italian normally requires the definite article before singular countable nouns when they are identified or generic. Unlike English (“in English we say ‘I like dogs’ without ‘the’”), Italian would say “Mi piace il cane” for “I like dogs” in general. Here, il giardino (“the garden”) follows that rule.

What function does la sera have at the end of the sentence?

La sera is an adverbial time expression meaning “in the evening.” Placed at the end, it tells us when the action happens.

Can we say di sera instead of la sera? Is there any difference?

Yes. Both mean “in the evening,” but:
• illumina il giardino di sera uses a preposition + noun and is more neutral.
• La sera, illumina il giardino or illumina il giardino la sera uses the definite article and can feel a bit more emphatic or habitual.

Could we move la sera to the beginning of the sentence?

Absolutely. You can start with the time phrase for emphasis or style:
La sera, la lampada portatile illumina il giardino.
It’s common to add a comma after La sera when it opens the sentence.