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Ogni mattina la marea sale lentamente in spiaggia.

Ogni mattina la marea sale lentamente in spiaggia.
Every morning the tide rises slowly on the beach.
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Questions & Answers about Ogni mattina la marea sale lentamente in spiaggia.

Why is there la before marea?

In Italian, abstract or natural phenomena (like the tide) usually take the definite article. You can think of la marea as “the tide” in English.

  • la marks a specific, well-defined concept.
  • Without la, the phrase would sound odd or overly general.

Examples:
• Il vento soffia forte. (The wind blows strongly.)
• La pioggia cade piano. (The rain falls gently.)

Can I say marea sale lentamente without the article?
No, omitting the article here would be ungrammatical. In Italian, mass nouns and phenomena almost always need il/lo/la. Dropping it makes the sentence feel incomplete or like a direct translation error from English.
Why ogni mattina and not ogni mattine?

Ogni requires a singular noun. It literally means “each” or “every,” so it always pairs with singular:

  • ogni giorno (every day)
  • ogni anno (every year)
  • ogni mattina (every morning)

The plural form mattine exists, but you wouldn’t use it with ogni.

What’s the difference between in spiaggia and sulla spiaggia?

Both are possible, but there’s a nuance:

  • in spiaggia (on the beach, in that environment) – emphasizes being within the general area.
  • sulla spiaggia (on top of the beach) – can sound slightly more “on the shore” or emphasize position on its surface.

In everyday speech, Italians usually say in spiaggia when talking about the beach environment.

Could lentamente (slowly) go somewhere else in the sentence?

Yes. Adverbs of manner in Italian are fairly flexible. You can place lentamente:

  1. Before the verb: Ogni mattina la marea lentamente sale in spiaggia. (a bit poetic)
  2. After the verb (default): …sale lentamente in spiaggia.
  3. At the very end: …sale in spiaggia lentamente.

Moving it changes emphasis slightly but keeps the meaning.

Why is the verb sale used here instead of something like cresce?

The verb salire (to rise/go up) is the standard choice for tides because it describes the action of “going up” physically.

  • La marea sale = the tide rises
  • La marea scende = the tide falls

Using cresce (to grow) would sound unnatural, since we don’t say “the tide grows” in Italian.