Breakdown of Nella cassettiera della camera tengo il rasoio e alcuni libri di musica.
io
I
il libro
the book
di
of
in
in
e
and
la musica
the music
tenere
to keep
alcuni
some
la camera
the room
il rasoio
the razor
la cassettiera
the dresser
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Questions & Answers about Nella cassettiera della camera tengo il rasoio e alcuni libri di musica.
What does cassettiera mean in English?
Cassettiera is a piece of furniture with several drawers—what in English is called a chest of drawers or dresser. It comes from cassetto (drawer), so cassettiera literally means “drawer-unit.”
Why is it nella cassettiera instead of just in cassettiera?
Italian usually combines the preposition in with the definite article la (feminine singular) to form the contraction nella. Also, with furniture and rooms, you almost always include the article. So:
- in
- la cassettiera → nella cassettiera.
Why do we say della camera and not just di camera?
Camera is feminine singular, so you need the partitive/genitive di + la → della. In this sentence, della camera means “of the room,” specifying which dresser you mean (“the one in the room”).
What is the function of tengo here?
Tengo is the first-person singular present of tenere, meaning “I keep,” “I hold,” or “I store.” It indicates that you keep those items in the dresser.
Why is there a definite article in il rasoio?
When talking about personal possessions or specific objects in Italian, you normally use the definite article. Here the speaker refers to a particular razor they own, thus il rasoio (“the razor”).
Could you use un rasoio instead of il rasoio?
Yes. Saying un rasoio would mean “a razor,” emphasizing any razor rather than a specific one. Using il makes it clear it’s a razor the speaker already has or that both speaker and listener know about.
Why alcuni libri di musica instead of qualche libro di musica?
- Alcuni is an adjective that always goes with plural nouns (alcuni libri).
- Qualche is invariable and goes with singular nouns (qualche libro), even though it means “some” in a plural sense.
So you could also say qualche libro di musica, but then you’d treat libro as singular. Alcuni libri di musica stresses that there are multiple books.
Why is it libri di musica and not libri musicali?
Libri di musica literally means “books of music” and is the normal way to talk about sheet music or music-related books. Libri musicali would translate as “musical books,” which isn’t idiomatic in Italian for that context. You’d only use musicali when describing books that are themselves musical (e.g., a talking musical storybook), which is rare.