Breakdown of Ho messo tutte le posate nel cassetto, perfino il mestolo di legno.
io
I
mettere
to put
di
of
nel
in
il legno
the wood
il cassetto
the drawer
perfino
even
il mestolo
the ladle
tutte
all
le posate
the cutlery
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Questions & Answers about Ho messo tutte le posate nel cassetto, perfino il mestolo di legno.
What does posate mean?
Posate refers to the set of eating utensils or cutlery—forks, knives, spoons, etc.
Why is posate plural here, and why do we say le posate?
In Italian, posate is always plural because it denotes multiple pieces. The article le is the feminine plural definite article matching posate (a feminine plural noun).
What does mestolo mean, and why is mestolo di legno used?
A mestolo is a ladle. Mestolo di legno literally means “ladle of wood,” i.e. a wooden ladle, with di legno indicating its material.
Can we say in legno instead of di legno?
Yes. You can say un mestolo in legno, but di legno is more direct and common when specifying what something is made of. Both are correct.
What is the function of perfino, and how does it differ from anche or persino?
Perfino means “even,” emphasizing that something extra or surprising is included. Persino is almost interchangeable. Anche means “also” or “too,” but lacks the same nuance of surprise or emphasis.
Why is it Ho messo instead of Ho misi?
Misi is the passato remoto form of mettere, mainly found in literary or historical contexts. Ho messo is the passato prossimo, the go-to past tense in everyday spoken Italian.
Why does mettere use avere as its auxiliary in the passato prossimo?
Because mettere is a transitive verb (it takes a direct object), it forms the passato prossimo with avere. Verbs that use essere are typically intransitive verbs of movement or change of state.
Why do we say nel cassetto and not in cassetto or in un cassetto?
Nel is the contraction of in + il, so nel cassetto means “in the drawer.” If you want to mean “in a drawer” (unspecified), you’d say in un cassetto. Saying simply in cassetto without an article sounds incomplete in Italian.
How would you turn this sentence negative to say “I didn’t put all the cutlery in the drawer”?
Place non before the auxiliary: Non ho messo tutte le posate nel cassetto. You could replace perfino with neanche or nemmeno for “not even”: Non ho messo tutte le posate nel cassetto, nemmeno il mestolo di legno.
How could you replace tutte le posate with a direct object pronoun?
Use le for the feminine plural pronoun and adjust the participle for agreement: Le ho messe tutte nel cassetto, perfino il mestolo di legno. Note messe agrees with le (feminine plural).