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L’orologio digitale è sul tavolo.

L’orologio digitale è sul tavolo.
The digital clock is on the table.
FromLesson 35inHardcore Italian
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Breakdown of L’orologio digitale è sul tavolo.

essere
to be
su
on
il tavolo
the table
digitale
digital
l’orologio
the clock

Questions & Answers about L’orologio digitale è sul tavolo.

Why is there an apostrophe in l’orologio, and why do we not say lo orologio?
In Italian, the definite articles lo (masculine) and la (feminine) drop their final vowel before a word starting with a vowel. That dropped vowel is replaced by an apostrophe, forming l’. Since orologio is masculine and begins with a vowel, lo orologio becomes l’orologio.
How do I know when to use il, lo, or l’?

It depends on the first letter and the noun’s gender:
• il before most consonants (il tavolo)
• lo before s+consonant, z, ps, gn, x, y (lo zaino)
• l’ (from lo or la) before any vowel (l’anello, l’amica)
For feminine singular you use la, which also elides to l’ before vowels.

Why is the adjective digitale placed after the noun? Can it come before instead?
By default Italian places adjectives after nouns: orologio digitale. You could move digitale before the noun for emphasis or stylistic effect, but in everyday speech it sounds odd: digitale orologio is not natural.
How does digitale change with gender and number?

Because digitale ends in -e, the singular form is identical for masculine and feminine:
• l’orologio digitale
• la sveglia digitale
The plural ends in -i for both genders:
• gli orologi digitali
• le sveglie digitali

What does sul stand for, and why not su il?

sul is the contraction of the preposition su + the definite article il. Italian routinely fuses simple prepositions with articles:
• su + il = sul
• su + lo = sullo
• su + la = sulla
• su + i = sui, and so on.

Why do we use è to describe the clock’s location? Why not sta or si trova?

è is the 3rd-person singular of essere (“to be”) and is the most straightforward way to state where something is. You also might hear:
• Sta sul tavolo (more colloquial, often for people or food)
• Si trova sul tavolo (a bit more formal)

In English we sometimes drop the article (“Digital clock on the table”). Why is the definite article required here?
Italian grammar generally requires a definite article before singular and plural nouns when specifying location. Omitting it (orologio digitale è sul tavolo) would be ungrammatical.
How do we turn the sentence into the plural (“The digital clocks are on the tables”)?
  1. Change l’orologio digitale to gli orologi digitali
  2. Change è to sono
  3. Change sul tavolo to sui tavoli
    → Gli orologi digitali sono sui tavoli.

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