Il bambino avanza lentamente sul prato.

The child advances slowly on the lawn.

Breakdown of Il bambino avanza lentamente sul prato.

• su: on
• il bambino: the child
• lentamente: slowly
• il prato: the lawn
• avanzare: to advance

Questions & Answers about Il bambino avanza lentamente sul prato.

What tense and person is avanza, and how is it formed?

Avanza is the third person singular present indicative form of the regular -are verb avanzare. You form it by taking the stem avanza- (drop -re from avanzare) and adding the ending -a, which signals “he/she/it advances” or “you (formal) advance.”

Why is lentamente used instead of lento, and how do you form adverbs like this in Italian?

In Italian, adjectives (like lento) describe nouns, but adverbs (like lentamente) describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. To turn an adjective ending in -o into an adverb, you replace -o with -amente. So lento → lentamente (slowly).

Could you place lentamente somewhere else in the sentence, and would the meaning change?

Yes. You could say:
• Lentamente, il bambino avanza sul prato. (placing the adverb at the beginning)
• Il bambino lentamente avanza sul prato. (placing it between subject and verb)
The basic meaning (“the child advances slowly on the lawn”) stays the same, though word order can shift emphasis.

Why is sul used instead of su il, and what exactly does sul mean?

Sul is a contraction of the preposition su (on) + the definite article il (the). In Italian, certain prepositions combine with articles. So:
su + il → sul
It literally means “on the.”

What gender and number is prato, and how do we know?

Prato is a masculine singular noun. You can tell because it ends in -o (typical for masculine singular) and takes the article il (masculine singular “the”).

Could you use a different verb instead of avanzare, and how would the nuance change?

Yes. For example:
• Il bambino cammina lentamente sul prato. (walks slowly)
• Il bambino si muove lentamente sul prato. (moves slowly)
Avanzare suggests a steady forward movement, often with a sense of progress or advancing toward something, whereas camminare simply means to walk.

How do you pronounce avanza and lentamente?

• avanza: a-VAN-za, stress on the second syllable (A-VAN-za)
• lentamente: len-ta-MEN-te, stress on the third syllable (len-ta-MEN-te)

Can the sentence use an indefinite article instead of il, and how would that change the meaning?

Yes. You could say:
Un bambino avanza lentamente sul prato.
Using un (a) makes it “A child advances slowly on the lawn,” more generic, whereas il (the) refers to a specific child already known in context.