Un tulipano giallo decora il tavolo.

A yellow tulip decorates the table.

Breakdown of Un tulipano giallo decora il tavolo.

• il tavolo: the table
• giallo: yellow
• decorare: to decorate
• il tulipano: the tulip

Questions & Answers about Un tulipano giallo decora il tavolo.

Why is un used before tulipano instead of una or uno?

• Un is the masculine singular indefinite article used before nouns beginning with a consonant or a vowel.
• Uno is only used before masculine nouns starting with s+consonant, z, gn, ps, x, y.
• Una is the feminine singular indefinite article.
Since tulipano is masculine and starts with a simple consonant, you use un tulipano.

Why does the adjective giallo come after the noun tulipano, whereas in English we say “yellow tulip”?

• In Italian most adjectives follow the noun.
• Color adjectives (like giallo) almost always come after: tulipano giallo.
• Placing giallo before the noun (un giallo tulipano) would sound unusual or poetic.

Why is giallo ending in -o instead of -a?

Italian adjectives agree in gender and number with their noun.
• Tulipano is masculine singular → adjective ends in -o → giallo.
• If the noun were feminine (rosa), you’d say una rosa gialla (feminine singular -a).

What form is decora, and how is it conjugated?

• Decora is the third person singular present indicative of decorare (to decorate/adorn).
• Conjugation pattern for regular -are verbs in the present:
– io decoro
– tu decori
– lui/lei decora
– noi decoriamo
– voi decorate
– loro decorano

Why is there no preposition like con (“with”) in this sentence? In English we’d say “decorate the table with a yellow tulip.”

• In Italian decorare can be used transitively with the decorating element as the subject:
– Un tulipano giallo decora il tavolo.
• If you switch to a human subject, you introduce the means with con:
– Ho decorato il tavolo con un tulipano giallo.

Why is il tavolo used instead of just tavolo? In English we sometimes drop “the.”

• Italian generally requires a definite article before singular, countable nouns in non-titular contexts.
• Since we mean “the table” (a specific table), you need il tavolo.

Is Un tulipano giallo decora il tavolo a common way to say this in Italian? It sounds poetic.

• It’s grammatically correct but somewhat literary or poetic.
• In everyday speech you might hear:
– Il tavolo è decorato da un tulipano giallo (passive).
– Un tulipano giallo abbellisce il tavolo.

What’s the difference between decorare, addobbare, abbellire, and ornare?

• decorare – to decorate or adorn (general use: rooms, cakes, tables)
• addobbare – to dress up for a festivity (Christmas trees, wedding halls)
• abbellire – to beautify, literary focus on making something more beautiful
• ornare – to ornament, somewhat formal or literary tone