Vicino alla pista ciclabile una ragazza fa ruotare un hula-hoop colorato.

Near the bike path a girl spins a colorful hula hoop.

Breakdown of Vicino alla pista ciclabile una ragazza fa ruotare un hula-hoop colorato.

• vicino: near
• colorato: colorful
• la pista ciclabile: the bike path
• la ragazza: the girl
• ruotare: to spin
• l’hula-hoop: the hula hoop

Questions & Answers about Vicino alla pista ciclabile una ragazza fa ruotare un hula-hoop colorato.

Why does the sentence use Vicino alla pista ciclabile instead of Vicino a la pista ciclabile?

In Italian the simple preposition a often merges (contracts) with the definite article that follows. Since pista ciclabile is feminine singular with article la, you combine a + la into alla.

Why is there no comma after pista ciclabile? Can I add one?

An introductory locative phrase (like “Vicino alla pista ciclabile”) doesn’t automatically require a comma in Italian. Commas are mostly a stylistic choice to mark a pause. You could write
• “Vicino alla pista ciclabile, una ragazza fa ruotare un hula-hoop colorato.”
but it’s equally correct without it.

What is the role of fa in fa ruotare? It doesn’t look like a normal “to spin” verb.

Here fare acts as a causative verb. Instead of saying “she spins an hula-hoop,” fa ruotare literally means “she makes (it) spin.” The structure is:
• fare + infinitive = “to have/make someone or something do X.”

Could you simply say ruota un hula-hoop colorato?

Yes, grammatically you could use the transitive ruotare on its own:
• “Una ragazza ruota un hula-hoop colorato.”
However, using fa ruotare emphasizes the action as something she actively causes rather than just describing the movement.

What’s the nuance between ruotare and girare? Both mean “to turn,” right?

They overlap, but generally:
• ruotare stresses rotation around an axis (the hoop spinning in place).
• girare is more general (“to turn,” “to go around,” even “to film”).
For a spinning object, ruotare is more precise.

Why is the indefinite article un used with hula-hoop instead of uno?

In Italian uno is reserved for masculine nouns that begin with s+consonant (es. uno studente), z (es. uno zaino), gn, pn, ps, x, y. Since hula-hoop starts with h (which isn’t in that special list and is silent), you use the regular masculine article un.

Why is hula-hoop masculine in Italian?

Most borrowed foreign nouns default to the masculine gender unless there’s a strong reason to choose feminine. You’ll often see il computer, il film, l’hobby, un hula-hoop.

Why is the adjective colorato placed after hula-hoop rather than before?

Italian descriptive adjectives normally follow the noun. Putting colorato after hula-hoop simply describes its non-inherent attribute (“a colorful hoop”). Placing it before is possible for stylistic emphasis but would sound more poetic or unusual.