Breakdown of Il fondo della pentola è caldo.
essere
to be
di
of
caldo
hot
la pentola
the pot
il fondo
the bottom
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Questions & Answers about Il fondo della pentola è caldo.
Why is fondo masculine and preceded by il?
Fondo ends in -o, which in Italian almost always marks a masculine noun. That’s why it takes the masculine singular definite article il, giving il fondo.
Why is it della pentola instead of di pentola or del pentola?
Pentola is a feminine singular noun, so you combine di (of) + la (the) = della. You cannot drop the article (di pentola) nor use del (which is di + il, only for masculine nouns).
Why do we use è caldo and not fa caldo or ho caldo?
- Fa caldo describes the weather (“it’s hot [outside]”).
- Ho caldo expresses a person’s feeling of heat (“I’m hot”).
To state the temperature of an object, Italian uses essere- adjective: il fondo … è caldo.
Why is the adjective caldo in the masculine singular form?
Italian adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Since il fondo is masculine singular, the adjective must also be masculine singular: caldo.
How would I say “The pot is hot” instead?
You change the noun and make the adjective feminine singular: La pentola è calda.
How do I form the plural of this sentence?
Make every element plural:
- il → i
- fondo → fondi
- della → delle
- pentola → pentole
- è → sono
- caldo → caldi
Result: I fondi delle pentole sono caldi.
What’s the difference between fondo and base?
Although both can mean “bottom,” fondo refers to the interior bottom of a container (like a pot). Base is more general (“base” or “foundation”) and often used in abstract or structural contexts, not for a pot’s inner bottom.
Are there other ways to say “the bottom of the pot”?
Yes. You could say la parte inferiore della pentola (“the lower part of the pot”) or even la zona inferiore, but il fondo della pentola is the most common when talking about a container’s inner bottom.
Why is the adjective placed after essere and not before the noun?
This is a predicative adjective structure:
subject (il fondo della pentola) + verb (è) + adjective (caldo).
Attributive adjectives (directly modifying a noun without a linking verb) usually follow the noun (il fondo caldo).
How do you pronounce Il fondo della pentola è caldo?
You can break it down and mark the stressed syllables in bold:
Il FON-do delLA PEN-to-la è CAL-do
Or roughly: “EEL FON-do del-LA PEN-to-la eh CAL-do.”
In IPA: [il ˈfon.do delˈla ˈpen.to.la ɛ ˈkal.do].