Breakdown of Metti le mandorle nel frullato, lo rendono più cremoso.
tu
you
mettere
to put
in
in
rendere
to make
più
more
lo
it
il frullato
the smoothie
la mandorla
the almond
cremoso
creamy
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Questions & Answers about Metti le mandorle nel frullato, lo rendono più cremoso.
Why is Metti used here instead of Mettete or another form?
Metti is the second-person singular imperative of mettere (“you put”). You use it when giving a direct command to one person you address informally (tu). If you spoke to several people, you’d say Mettete; for one person formally (Lei) you’d say Metta.
Why do we say le mandorle with the definite article rather than just mandorle?
In Italian, food and ingredients are often introduced with the definite article when speaking about them in general. Le mandorle means “almonds” in a generic, collective sense. Dropping the article would sound odd in this context.
Why is it nel frullato and not simply in frullato?
Italian usually requires the definite article with names of dishes, drinks, recipes, etc. Il frullato is “the smoothie,” so “in the smoothie” becomes the contraction nel (in + il). Without the article, it would sound incomplete.
The second clause begins with lo rendono. Why lo and not li?
Li would refer back to le mandorle (“them,” feminine plural). Here we want to say “they make it creamier” – “it” being il frullato (masculine singular). Therefore the direct-object pronoun is lo.
Why is the verb rendono in the third-person plural and not singular?
Because its subject is le mandorle, which is feminine plural. Verbs in Italian must agree in number (and person) with their subject: le mandorle rendono (“the almonds make”).
Could we use fanno instead of rendono here?
Yes, you could say Le mandorle nel frullato fanno il frullato più cremoso, or more succinctly Le mandorle lo fanno più cremoso. However, rendere + aggettivo is a more idiomatic and elegant way in Italian to express “to make something [adjective]”: rendono più cremoso.
Why is it più cremoso (an adjective) and not più cremosamente (an adverb)?
You’re describing a quality of the noun frullato, so you need an adjective (cremoso) that agrees with frullato in gender and number. An adverb (cremosamente) would modify a verb, not describe the texture of the smoothie itself.
Could you replace le mandorle with the pronoun le and say Mettile nel frullato?
Absolutely. Once you’ve mentioned le mandorle, you can use the direct-object pronoun le in their place: Mettile nel frullato, lo rendono più cremoso. Just remember not to combine the noun and pronoun together (i.e. Mettile le mandorle would be redundant).