Breakdown of Ne raccoglieremo altri sassolini per decorare il fossato attorno al castello.
per
for
noi
we
ne
of them
decorare
to decorate
il castello
the castle
raccogliere
to collect
il sassolino
the pebble
altro
other
il fossato
the moat
attorno
around
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Questions & Answers about Ne raccoglieremo altri sassolini per decorare il fossato attorno al castello.
What is ne doing at the start of the sentence?
ne is the Italian partitive pronoun meaning “of them” or “some of them.” Here it refers back to sassolini (“pebbles”) so that ne raccoglieremo altri literally means “we’ll collect some more of them.”
Why is ne necessary when the noun altri sassolini is already there?
While altri sassolini means “more pebbles,” adding ne gives a clear partitive nuance—“some of them”—and ties the action to pebbles already mentioned. Without ne, you’d still say raccoglieremo altri sassolini (“we’ll collect more pebbles”), but you wouldn’t emphasize that they’re some of the previously discussed stones.
How is the future tense raccoglieremo formed?
For regular -ere verbs like raccogliere, drop the final -e, add the future marker -er-, then the ending for we (-emo). So:
raccogliere → raccoglie- → raccoglier- + emo = raccoglieremo (“we will gather/collect”).
What does the diminutive suffix -ini in sassolini add to the meaning?
The suffix -ino (singular) / -ini (plural) is a diminutive. It turns sasso (“stone”) into sassolino (“little stone”). Plural sassolini therefore means “little stones” or “pebbles,” highlighting their small size.
What is the function of per before decorare?
per + infinitive expresses purpose. Here per decorare means “to decorate” or “in order to decorate,” explaining why you’ll gather pebbles—namely, to decorate the moat.
What does fossato mean?
fossato is a masculine noun meaning “moat” (or more generally “ditch”). Singular is il fossato, plural i fossati.
Are attorno al and intorno al interchangeable in this context?
Yes. Both attorno a and intorno a mean “around.” You can say il fossato attorno al castello or il fossato intorno al castello with no change in meaning. intorno is slightly more formal; attorno a bit more conversational.
What’s the difference between altri sassolini and gli altri sassolini?
altri sassolini means “other/more pebbles” in a general or indefinite sense—additional stones you want to pick up. gli altri sassolini means “the other pebbles,” referring to a specific group already identified. The article gli makes it definite.