In una lettera formale evito le espressioni colloquiali.

In a formal letter I avoid colloquial expressions.

Breakdown of In una lettera formale evito le espressioni colloquiali.

• io: I
• in: in
• evitare: to avoid
• la lettera: the letter
• formale: formal
• l’espressione: the expression
• colloquiale: colloquial

Questions & Answers about In una lettera formale evito le espressioni colloquiali.

Why is the preposition in used in In una lettera formale? Could I use per or su instead?

The preposition in indicates “inside” or “within” the text of the letter.

• su una lettera formale would mean “on a formal letter” (physically on top of it).
• per una lettera formale means “for a formal letter” (indicating purpose).
  Use in when talking about what happens inside a document.

Why do we say una lettera formale instead of la lettera formale?

Using una (the indefinite article) signals that you’re talking about a formal letter in general, not a specific one. If you wanted to refer to a particular letter, you’d use la and say nella lettera formale (“in the formal letter”).

There’s no subject pronoun before evito. Is that correct?

Yes. Italian drops subject pronouns because the verb ending (-o) already shows that it’s I (io). You could add Io evito for emphasis (“I avoid”), but it’s not needed in normal sentences.

What part of speech is evito, and why does it take a direct object here?

Evito is the first-person singular present indicative of the verb evitare (“to avoid”). Evitare is transitive, so it can take a direct object without a preposition. Here le espressioni colloquiali is the object you’re avoiding.

Why is the definite article le used before espressioni colloquiali? Can we drop it?

Italian often uses the definite article with nouns in a general sense. Le espressioni colloquiali means “colloquial expressions” as a category. You could say Evito espressioni colloquiali without le, and it’s still correct, but the article makes the noun feel more general and natural.

How do the adjectives formale and colloquiali agree with their nouns?

• Formale modifies lettera (feminine singular). Adjectives ending in -e have the same form for masculine and feminine singular. Its plural is formali.
• Colloquiali modifies espressioni (feminine plural). Adjectives ending in -e in the singular become -i in the plural for both genders.

Could I say evito di usare espressioni colloquiali instead?

Yes. Evitare can also be followed by an infinitive with di.
Example: In una lettera formale evito di usare espressioni colloquiali.
This construction is more explicit (“I avoid using colloquial expressions”) but both versions are correct.

How would I say this sentence in the past tense?

You have two common options:

• Passato prossimo (completed action):
  In una lettera formale ho evitato le espressioni colloquiali.
• Imperfetto (habitual or descriptive past):
  In una lettera formale evitavo le espressioni colloquiali.

Can I place the adjective colloquiali before the noun (i.e. colloquiali espressioni)?

Generally, Italian adjectives follow the noun: espressioni colloquiali is the standard order. Placing colloquiali before espressioni is unusual here and can sound poetic or emphatic, but it’s not the normal word order.