Breakdown of La superficie del tavolo è pulita.
essere
to be
il tavolo
the table
di
of
pulito
clean
la superficie
the surface
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Questions & Answers about La superficie del tavolo è pulita.
Why is La used before superficie?
In Italian, common nouns typically require a definite article when you talk about them in a general or specific sense. Since superficie is feminine singular, the correct article is la, giving la superficie (“the surface”).
Why do we say del tavolo instead of di tavolo?
Del is a contraction of di + il. When you want to say “of the table,” you need both the preposition di (“of”) and the definite article il (because tavolo is masculine singular). Combining them gives del. Saying di tavolo would leave out the article and sound unnatural in standard Italian.
Why is the adjective pulita feminine instead of masculine?
Adjectives in Italian agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Here the noun is superficie, which is feminine singular, so the adjective must be pulita (feminine singular) rather than pulito (masculine singular).
Could I instead say Il tavolo è pulito? How does that change the meaning?
Yes, Il tavolo è pulito means “The table is clean,” implying the whole table is clean. In contrast, La superficie del tavolo è pulita specifically focuses on the tabletop’s surface being clean (even if, say, the legs or underside might not be).
Is è pulita a passive voice construction or simply an adjective?
Here it’s functioning as an adjective with a linking verb. You’re describing a state: “the surface … is clean.” In a true passive meaning “has been cleaned,” you’d use a compound passive: La superficie del tavolo è stata pulita (“the table’s surface has been cleaned”).
How would you say “the surface of the table has been cleaned” in Italian?
You would use the passive perfect:
La superficie del tavolo è stata pulita.
Here è stata (fem. singular of “to be” in the perfect tense) plus the past participle pulita expresses that action was performed on the surface.
Why does è have a grave accent, and how is it different from e without an accent?
È (with a grave accent) is the third-person singular of essere (“to be”). E (without an accent) means “and.” The accent distinguishes them in writing and pronunciation: è is pronounced [ɛ], while e is pronounced [e].
Can the adjective pulita come before the noun, as in la pulita superficie del tavolo?
While you can grammatically say la pulita superficie, it sounds literary or poetic and might emphasize “clean” ahead of “surface.” In everyday speech, adjectives of quality usually follow the noun, so la superficie pulita del tavolo (or the given order) is more natural.
Why do we place del tavolo between superficie and è pulita instead of after pulita?
Word order in Italian prefers the noun with its modifiers and complements close together. La superficie del tavolo forms one cohesive noun phrase (“the surface of the table”), and then you add the verb phrase è pulita (“is clean”). Moving del tavolo after pulita would break up the noun phrase and sound awkward.