Apri il portone con la chiave.

Open the gate with the key.

Breakdown of Apri il portone con la chiave.

• tu: you
• con: with
• la chiave: the key
• aprire: to open
• il portone: the gate

Questions & Answers about Apri il portone con la chiave.

What verb mood and person is Apri, and how is it formed?

Apri is the second person singular imperative (tu) of the verb aprire (to open). In Italian:

• For -ire and -ere verbs, the tu imperative is identical to the present indicative: tu apri → Apri!
• For -are verbs, the tu imperative drops the final -i of the present indicative (e.g., parli → Parla!).

Use this form when you tell one person (informal) to do something.

How would I make this command polite or formal?

To address someone with Lei (formal you), switch to the third person subjunctive used as a courtesy imperative:

• Apra il portone con la chiave.
  You can also soften any command by adding per favore (“please”):
• Apra il portone con la chiave, per favore.

Why is there no subject pronoun (tu) before Apri?

Italian typically omits subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who you’re talking to. In Apri, the ending -i signals tu. If you want to emphasize, you can say Tu apri il portone con la chiave, but it’s not required.

How do I form the negative imperative for “Don’t open the gate with the key”?

For a negative tu command, use non + infinitive, not the imperative form:

• Non aprire il portone con la chiave.
  Note: You place non before the infinitive aprire, and you don’t attach pronouns in the same way as with affirmative imperatives.

Where do I place an object pronoun if I want to say “Open it with the key”?

The direct object pronoun for il portone is lo.

• Affirmative tu imperative: attach the pronoun to the verb → Apri​lo con la chiave.
• Negative tu imperative: place the pronoun before the infinitive → Non lo aprire con la chiave.

Why do we use il before portone? Can I drop it like in English?

In Italian, you almost always use definite articles before singular, countable nouns. Here, il portone specifies the main door/gate. Omitting the article (portone con chiave) would be ungrammatical.

What’s the difference between porta, portone, and cancello?

• porta: a standard door (e.g., room, house, car)
• portone: a large or main entrance door (often of an apartment building)
• cancello: a gate (typically metal or wooden, part of a fence or entryway)

Choose the word based on size and context.

Why is con used here, and can I use another expression for “with”?

Con indicates the instrument or means: “with the key.” Alternatives include:

• usando la chiave (using the key)
• per mezzo della chiave (by means of the key – more formal)
  But con is the most direct and common way to express “using” or “with.”

Can con + la be contracted like other preposition + article combinations?

No. The only contraction with con is col = con + il (e.g., col libro). You do not contract con + la, so it remains con la chiave.

How is chiave stressed, and what is its plural form?

• Pronunciation: CHI-ave (stress on the first syllable).
• It’s feminine; singular la chiave, plural le chiavi (replace -e with -i like most feminine nouns ending in -e).