La lampada solare illumina il giardino.

The solar lamp illuminates the garden.

Breakdown of La lampada solare illumina il giardino.

• il giardino: the garden
• la lampada: the lamp
• illuminare: to illuminate
• solare: solar

Questions & Answers about La lampada solare illumina il giardino.

Why is la used before lampada?

In Italian every singular noun has a gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural).

• Lampada ends in -a, which is a common ending for feminine nouns.
• The definite article for feminine singular is la.
  So you say la lampada, not il lampada.

Why is the adjective solare spelled with -e at the end, and why does it come after lampada?

• Many Italian adjectives that end in -e have the same form for both masculine and feminine in the singular (solare = M/F singular).
• In the plural, they become -i (solari = M/F plural).
• Adjectives in Italian typically follow the noun they describe, especially neutral or descriptive ones like solare. Saying la solare lampada is grammatically possible, but less idiomatic and shifts the emphasis.

Why is il used before giardino, and is giardino the direct object of the verb?

• Giardino ends in -o, a typical masculine singular ending, so it takes the definite article il.
• Yes, giardino is the direct object of illuminare; in Italian transitive verbs take a direct object without any preposition.

Why is there no preposition (like a, in, su) before il giardino?

Because illuminare is a transitive verb, it directly governs its object. You simply attach the noun (with its article) after the verb:
lampada solare illumina il giardino

What person and tense is illumina, and how do I know?

• Illumina is the present indicative form of illuminare.
• It is third person singular (“he/she/it illuminates”), matching the singular subject la lampada solare.

How would you say the same sentence in the plural?

Adjust both articles, nouns, adjective and verb to plural:

• la → le
• lampada → lampade
• solare → solari
• illumina → illuminano
• il → i
• giardino → giardini

Result: Le lampade solari illuminano i giardini.

How do you pronounce La lampada solare illumina il giardino, and where are the stressed syllables?

Break it into syllables and mark the stress (capital letters):

• LAHM-pa-da so-LA-re il-lu-MI-na il gar-DI-no
  You stress the second syllable of lampada, the second of solare, the third of illumina, and the second of giardino.

If I meant “A solar lamp illuminates the garden,” can I use an indefinite article?

Yes. To say “a solar lamp” you use una (feminine singular indefinite):
Una lampada solare illumina il giardino.
Use una because lampada is a feminine noun.