Breakdown of Il bambino si nasconde sotto il tavolo.
il tavolo
the table
il bambino
the child
sotto
under
nascondersi
to hide oneself
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Questions & Answers about Il bambino si nasconde sotto il tavolo.
Why is the reflexive pronoun si used in si nasconde?
Because nascondersi is the reflexive form of the verb nascondere (“to hide”). By adding si, you indicate that the subject (il bambino) is performing the action on himself: “the child hides himself.”
Why does si come before nasconde instead of after it?
In simple tenses (present, imperfect, etc.), Italian places clitic pronouns like si before the conjugated verb. So you say si nasconde, not nasconde si.
Can I drop il bambino and just say Si nasconde sotto il tavolo?
Yes. Italian often omits the subject when the verb ending makes it clear who the subject is. Si nasconde sotto il tavolo still means “He/She/It hides under the table,” but you’d need context to know it’s “the child.”
Why is the article il used before tavolo? Could I omit it?
Italian normally requires a definite article before singular general nouns: il tavolo. Omitting the article (just saying sotto tavolo) sounds ungrammatical unless you add another determiner or adjective.
Does sotto change when followed by il, like some other prepositions?
No. Some prepositions contract (e.g. di + il = del), but sotto does not contract. You always say sotto il tavolo.
How is nascondere conjugated in the present tense?
Nascondere is a regular second-conjugation (-ere) verb. In the present indicative:
- io nascondo
- tu nascondi
- lui/lei nasconde
- noi nascondiamo
- voi nascondete
- loro nascondono
Could I use nasconde se stesso instead of si nasconde?
Grammatically yes: Il bambino nasconde se stesso sotto il tavolo. But Italians prefer the reflexive clitic si, so Il bambino si nasconde is more natural and concise.
What’s the word order here? Could I say Sotto il tavolo si nasconde il bambino?
Yes, you can invert to emphasize location or the action: Sotto il tavolo si nasconde il bambino. It sounds more literary or poetic but is perfectly correct; it shifts the focus to sotto il tavolo.