Learn Hardcore Italian: Indosso un vestito elegante per salire sul palcoscenico.

Indosso is the first-person singular present of indossare, meaning “I wear.” It specifically refers to putting on or having clothes on your body.

Could you use porto instead of indosso?

You could say porto un vestito elegante, but portare is more general (“to carry,” “to wear” for accessories or glasses). Indossare focuses on garments, so indosso sounds more precise for clothing.

Why is it un vestito elegante and not un elegante vestito?

In Italian, descriptive adjectives often follow the noun. Saying un vestito elegante is the neutral, everyday order. Placing elegante before vestito (as in un elegante vestito) is grammatically correct but adds a stylistic or poetic nuance.

Why doesn’t elegante change ending to agree with vestito?

Adjectives ending in -e have the same form for both masculine and feminine singular. So you get un vestito elegante or una gonna elegante with no spelling change.

What is the role of per in per salire sul palcoscenico?

Here per means “in order to.” It introduces the purpose of wearing the elegant dress: I wear an elegant dress in order to go up on stage. When you express purpose, you follow per with the infinitive.

Why salire and not andare sul palco?

Salire means “to go up onto” a higher place (like a stage). Andare would simply be “to go” there. Using salire emphasises the action of stepping up onto the platform.

Why is it sul palcoscenico and not just su palcoscenico?

In Italian, when su (“on”) is followed by a definite article (il), they contract to sul. So su + il palcoscenico becomes sul palcoscenico.

What does palcoscenico mean, and can you use palco instead?

Palcoscenico literally means “stage.” Palco can also mean “stage” or “box” in a theater. Saying salire sul palco is perfectly normal and a bit more colloquial than salire sul palcoscenico.