Durante il viaggio tengo il passaporto nel marsupio per sicurezza.

During the trip I keep the passport in the waist pouch for safety.

Breakdown of Durante il viaggio tengo il passaporto nel marsupio per sicurezza.

• io: I
• per: for
• nel: in
• durante: during

Questions & Answers about Durante il viaggio tengo il passaporto nel marsupio per sicurezza.

Why do we need the definite article il after durante in Durante il viaggio?

In Italian, many prepositions (like durante) are followed by a noun that keeps its definite article. So you say durante il viaggio rather than durante viaggio. This pattern holds for other combinations, too: durante la lezione, durante gli esami, and so on.

Why is tengo used here instead of a verb like porto or metto?

Tenere means “to keep” or “to hold,” implying you keep your passport in a safe place for the whole trip.
Portare means “to carry,” focusing on the action of moving something from one point to another.
Mettere means “to put” (down or into), which describes the action of placing but not necessarily keeping it there.
Using tengo emphasizes that the passport remains in your fanny pack throughout the journey.

Could I say Durante il mio viaggio instead of Durante il viaggio?

Yes. Adding mio (my) makes it Durante il mio viaggio, which is more personal or specific to your trip. Leaving out mio (i.e., durante il viaggio) sounds a bit more general, but both forms are perfectly correct.

What does marsupio mean? Are there synonyms?