Breakdown of Il vagone del treno è vuoto.
essere
to be
di
of
il treno
the train
vuoto
empty
il vagone
the carriage
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Questions & Answers about Il vagone del treno è vuoto.
Why is the definite article il used before vagone?
Because vagone is a masculine singular noun beginning with a consonant (v). In Italian, the masculine singular definite article is il for most consonants. The article lo is reserved for masculine nouns starting with s + consonant, z, gn, ps, pn, x or y, while l’ is used before vowels.
What does del stand for in del treno?
Del is a contraction of di (of) + il (the). So del treno literally means of the train. Italian regularly fuses prepositions with definite articles:
- di + il = del
- di + la = della
- di + l’ = dell’
Why is the adjective vuoto not vuota?
Adjectives in Italian must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Vagone is masculine singular, so the adjective takes the masculine singular form vuoto. If you were describing a feminine noun (e.g. la carrozza), you would say vuota.
Why doesn’t vuoto agree with treno instead of vagone?
The adjective always agrees with the noun it directly modifies. Here vuoto describes vagone, not treno, so it matches vagone in gender and number. If you wanted to say the train is empty, you’d say Il treno è vuoto.
Can I omit del treno and just say Il vagone è vuoto?
Yes. If the context makes it clear which train you mean, you can drop del treno. Il vagone è vuoto simply means The carriage is empty without specifying whose carriage it is.
Is vagone the same as carrozza?
They overlap but have different shades:
- Vagone is a general term for any rail vehicle or “wagon,” including freight cars.
- Carrozza usually refers specifically to a passenger coach/carriage.
In everyday speech you might hear both, but carrozza emphasizes passenger transport.
How do you pronounce vagone del treno?
In standard Italian pronunciation (IPA):
[vaˈɡoːne del ˈtreːno]
– Stress on the second syllable of vagone (go)
– Stress on the first syllable of treno (tre)
The g in vagone is a hard [ɡ], and each vowel is pronounced distinctly.