……
Breakdown of Ho una maglia pulita nella borsa.
io
I
avere
to have
in
in
la borsa
the bag
pulito
clean
la maglia
the shirt
Questions & Answers about Ho una maglia pulita nella borsa.
Why is the adjective pulita placed after the noun maglia instead of before it?
In Italian the neutral or descriptive position for most adjectives is after the noun.
- Putting pulita after maglia simply states that the shirt is clean.
- If you move it before (una pulita maglia), it becomes more poetic, emphatic or stylistic, and is rarely used in everyday speech.
Why does pulita end in -a here?
Italian adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.
- Maglia is feminine and singular, so pulita also takes the feminine singular ending -a.
- If you had two clean shirts: due maglie pulite, the adjective becomes feminine plural pulite.
What does nella mean?
Nella is a contraction of the preposition in + the feminine singular definite article la.
- in + la = nella
- It means “in the.”
Could you say in la borsa instead of nella borsa?
No. In Italian certain prepositions must contract with definite articles:
- in
- il = nel
- in
- la = nella
- You won’t hear in la borsa – the correct form is always nella borsa.
Could you use sulla borsa instead of nella borsa?
You could, but it changes the meaning:
- sulla borsa = “on the bag” (the shirt is lying on top of it)
- nella borsa = “in the bag” (the shirt is inside it)
Why is the verb ho used here? Could you say c’è instead?
- Ho is the first-person singular of avere (“to have”), so Ho una maglia… means “I have a shirt…”
- C’è una maglia pulita nella borsa means “There is a clean shirt in the bag.” That construction states existence/location rather than personal possession.
How would you make this sentence plural?
You change both the article and the adjective to plural:
- Singular: Ho una maglia pulita nella borsa.
- Plural: Ho delle maglie pulite nella borsa.
- una → delle (some)
- maglia → maglie
- pulita → pulite
Can you change the word order, for example by starting with nella borsa?
Yes. Italian is fairly flexible with word order for emphasis. You can say:
- Nella borsa ho una maglia pulita.
This puts the focus on where the shirt is. The meaning stays the same; you’re just spotlighting the location first.
More from this lesson
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“What's the best way to learn Italian grammar?”
Italian grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning ItalianMaster Italian — from Ho una maglia pulita nella borsa to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions