Trovo un’uscita vicino alla porta.

I find an exit near the door.

Breakdown of Trovo un’uscita vicino alla porta.

• io: I
• la porta: the door
• trovare: to find
• vicino a: near
• l’uscita: the exit

Questions & Answers about Trovo un’uscita vicino alla porta.

What part of speech is trovo and what does it mean?

Trovo is the first-person singular present indicative of the verb trovare, meaning “I find.”

Why isn’t the subject pronoun io used before trovo?

In Italian, verb endings indicate the subject, so pronouns like io (“I”) are usually omitted unless needed for emphasis or clarity.

Why is it un’uscita instead of una uscita?

When a feminine noun begins with a vowel (uscita), the indefinite article una drops its -a and an apostrophe is added: un’.

What does the apostrophe in un’uscita indicate?

It marks the elision of the vowel a from una, preventing two vowels from clashing at the word boundary.

Why do we say vicino alla porta and not vicino la porta?

Vicino requires the preposition a before its object. The door is feminine singular (la porta), so a + la contracts to alla, giving vicino alla porta.

Could you use accanto a or presso instead of vicino a?

Yes. Accanto a means “right next to” (e.g., accanto alla porta), while presso is more formal (“at/near,” e.g., presso la porta).

Why is it la porta with an article rather than just porta?

Italian normally uses the definite article with a specific, known noun. Here it’s “the door,” so you need la before porta.