La superficie del tavolo è pulita.

The surface of the table is clean.

Breakdown of La superficie del tavolo è pulita.

• essere: to be
• il tavolo: the table
• di: of
• pulito: clean

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).