Breakdown of La nuvola sparisce dietro la montagna.
la montagna
the mountain
la nuvola
the cloud
dietro
behind
sparire
to disappear
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Questions & Answers about La nuvola sparisce dietro la montagna.
Why does nuvola take the definite article la, while in English we sometimes drop “the”?
In Italian, most singular countable nouns must be accompanied by an article. Nuvola is a feminine singular noun, so it needs the feminine singular definite article la. English is more flexible about dropping “the,” but Italian requires it here to mean “the cloud.”
Why is there another la before montagna in dietro la montagna? Could I omit it?
Prepositions like dietro (“behind”) must be followed by a noun with its appropriate article. You cannot say dietro montagna alone. You do need la before montagna. Optionally, you could also use the articulated form dietro alla montagna (combining a + la), but the simpler dietro la montagna is more common.
What is sparisce and why does it look different from the infinitive sparire?
Sparisce is the third-person singular present indicative of sparire (“to disappear”). Sparire belongs to the group of -ire verbs that insert -isc- in the present tense (along with verbs like capire, finire, preferire). The stem changes from spar- to sparisc- before adding the ending -e.
Is sparire transitive or intransitive? How would you form the past tense?
Sparire is intransitive—it does not take a direct object. In compound tenses like the passato prossimo, it uses essere as its auxiliary, not avere. So you’d say La nuvola è sparita (“The cloud has disappeared”).
How would you say “the clouds disappear behind the mountains” in Italian?
Turn each element into plural:
- la → le
- nuvola → nuvole
- sparisce → spariscono (third-person plural)
- la → le
- montagna → montagne
Result: Le nuvole spariscono dietro le montagne.
Why is dietro used here instead of in, su, or another preposition?
Dietro specifically means “behind” in the sense of being at the back of or hidden by something.
- in means “inside”
- su means “on top of”
- sotto means “under”
None of those convey the idea of being behind the mountain, so dietro is the correct choice.
Can I use a synonym for sparisce in this sentence?
Yes. A very close equivalent is scompare (from scomparire). You could say La nuvola scompare dietro la montagna with virtually the same meaning and grammatical behavior.
How do you pronounce the stress in nuvola and montagna?
- nuvola is stressed on the first syllable: NU-vo-la [ˈnu.vo.la]
- montagna is stressed on the second syllable: mon-TA-gna [monˈta.ɲɲa]
Is the word order fixed, or could I say Dietro la montagna, la nuvola sparisce?
Italian word order is quite flexible. Starting with Dietro la montagna shifts the focus to the location and is perfectly acceptable:
Dietro la montagna, la nuvola sparisce.
You can add a comma for clarity or emphasis.