Learn Hardcore Italian: Attento: la colla fresca macchia facilmente la maglia. - Careful: fresh glue easily stains the shirt.

Attento is the second-person singular adjective used as a quick warning meaning “be careful” or “watch out.” It’s like a shorthand for “Sii attento.” You could also say “Attenzione: …” (literally “Attention: …”) or “Fai attenzione” (“Pay attention/be careful”), but Attento is more direct and colloquial.

Why is there a colon after Attento?

The colon introduces the specific hazard you need to watch out for, functioning like “Warning:” or “Caution:” in English. It marks that what follows explains what you should be careful about.

Why do we say la colla fresca instead of just colla fresca?

In Italian, uncountable substances (water, glue, wine…) often take the definite article when speaking in general.
• La colla fresca = “fresh glue” as a general substance.
You could drop the article in very terse notices (e.g. “Attento: colla fresca macchia…”), but using la is more idiomatic in a full sentence.

Why is fresca placed after colla and not before?

Descriptive adjectives in Italian normally follow the noun (colla fresca). Placing the adjective before (fresca colla) is unusual and would add poetic or emphatic nuance.

What part of speech is macchia, and why is it third person singular?

Macchia is the present-tense, third-person singular form of the verb macchiare (“to stain”). The subject is la colla fresca (singular), so the verb agrees as macchia (“[it] stains”).

Why is facilmente placed after the verb macchia? Could it go before?

Adverbs of manner often follow the verb in Italian: macchia facilmente (“stains easily”). You could say facilmente macchia, but that sounds more formal or emphatic. The usual word order is Subject – Verb – Adverb – Object.

Why is la maglia singular here instead of plural (le maglie)?

Using the singular with the definite article can express a generic statement: “Fresh glue easily stains the shirt” meaning any shirt. If you wanted to stress multiple shirts, you’d use the plural: “La colla fresca macchia facilmente le maglie.”

What exactly does maglia refer to? Could it mean something other than a “shirt”?

Maglia primarily means “shirt,” “jumper” or “jersey.” In everyday speech it can refer to any knit top. A smaller T-shirt is often called maglietta, and Italian also uses T-shirt directly. All would work:
• la maglia
• la maglietta
• la T-shirt