Prendo un guanto dalla borsa.

I take a glove from the bag.

Breakdown of Prendo un guanto dalla borsa.

• io: I
• prendere: to take
• da: from
• la borsa: the bag
• il guanto: the glove

Questions & Answers about Prendo un guanto dalla borsa.

Why is it un guanto and not uno guanto or una guanto?

Italian has two masculine indefinite articles: un (used before most consonants and vowels) and uno (used before s+consonant, z, ps, gn, x, y). Since guanto begins with a simple consonant g, you use un. Una is the feminine form and doesn’t match the masculine noun guanto.

Why is da + la written as dalla?

In Italian, certain prepositions contract with definite articles for ease of pronunciation. Here’s how da contracts:

• da + il = dal
• da + lo = dallo
• da + la = dalla
• da + i = dai
• da + gli = dagli
  So dalla borsa literally means “from the bag.”

Could you say Prendo un guanto da una borsa instead?

Yes.

• Prendo un guanto da una borsa means “I take a glove from a bag” (one of several possible bags).
• Prendo un guanto dalla borsa uses the definite article, implying a specific bag already known in context.

Why isn’t there any preposition before un guanto? In English we’d say “take out a glove”.

In Italian, prendere is a transitive verb, so it directly takes a direct object without a preposition: you just say prendere qualcosa. The preposition da only marks the source (dalla borsa). If you want to stress “out,” you can optionally add fuori: Prendo (fuori) un guanto dalla borsa, but it’s not required.

Where does the pronoun go if I want to say “I take it from the bag”?

You replace un guanto with the masculine singular direct‐object pronoun lo and place it before the conjugated verb:
Lo prendo dalla borsa.

Can I invert the word order, like Dalla borsa prendo un guanto?

Yes. Italian allows relatively flexible word order.

• Dalla borsa prendo un guanto is grammatically correct and emphasizes dalla borsa.
• The neutral order is Prendo un guanto dalla borsa.

What’s the difference between prendere un guanto and togliere un guanto?

• Prendere means “to take” or “to grab/get”, with no strong focus on removal.
• Togliere means “to remove” or “to take away”, emphasizing the act of taking something out of its place.
  If you want a neutral “I grab a glove,” use prendo un guanto; if you want to highlight removing it from the bag, tolgo un guanto dalla borsa is more precise.