Learn Hardcore Italian: Oggi indosso un guanto solo, perché l’altro è sparito. - Today I am wearing only one glove, because the other has disappeared.

Both indossare and portare can translate as “to wear,” but indossare is the standard verb for clothing and accessories. Portare more often means “to carry” (though it can informally mean “to wear” in some contexts, like glasses or a hat). For a glove, Italians say indossare.

Why is the simple present indosso used rather than a progressive like sto indossando?

In Italian, the simple present (io indosso) is normally used for ongoing or current actions, especially with states or habitual activities. The progressive (sto indossando) exists but is less common, and sounds overly technical or awkward when talking about clothes you’re wearing now.

Why is un guanto solo placed this way? Could we also say solo un guanto? What’s the nuance?

Both orders are grammatically correct:

Un solo guanto emphasizes “only one glove” (focus on the quantity).
Un guanto solo is more neutral or stylistic, stressing that the glove is by itself.
Word order changes the subtle emphasis, but the basic meaning stays the same.

What does l’altro stand for? Why is there an apostrophe?

L’altro is the contracted form of il altro. In Italian you drop the vowel of il (the masculine definite article) before another vowel and replace it with an apostrophe. Here l’altro means “the other one” (referring to the other glove).

Why is perché written with an accent over the second e?

The accent in perché marks the stressed syllable and distinguishes it from non-words like perche. It shows that you’re using the conjunction/adverb meaning “because” or “why.”

Why is sparito used with essere instead of avere in the past tense?

Sparire is an intransitive verb that takes essere as its auxiliary in compound tenses. So the correct past tense is è sparito (“has disappeared”), not ha sparito.

Why is sparire chosen here instead of perdere?

Sparire means “to vanish” or “to disappear,” implying the glove went missing by itself or mysteriously. Perdere means “to lose,” implying someone misplaced it. È sparito suggests it disappeared on its own.

Why doesn’t sparito change its ending for gender/number?

It actually agrees with the subject. Guanto is masculine singular, so we use sparito. If it were feminine singular you’d say è sparita, and if it were plural you’d say sono spariti (masc.) or sono sparite (fem.).

Could I say Oggi porto un guanto solo instead? Is that correct?

Yes, it’s grammatically correct and people would understand you. However, indossare is the preferred verb for wearing garments. Portare is more general (“to carry”) and only sometimes used for clothes.

Can I move oggi to a different position in the sentence?

Yes. You could say Indosso oggi un guanto solo or Indosso un guanto solo oggi, but placing oggi at the very beginning (Oggi indosso…) is the most natural and common in Italian.