La vicina chiede un po’ di zucchero in prestito.

The neighbor asks to borrow some sugar.

Breakdown of La vicina chiede un po’ di zucchero in prestito.

• lo zucchero: the sugar
• un po' di: a bit of
• chiedere in prestito: to borrow
• la vicina: the neighbor

Questions & Answers about La vicina chiede un po’ di zucchero in prestito.

Why is there an apostrophe in po’?

The apostrophe shows the elision of the final co from poco, so po’ is just a shorter, more colloquial form of poco. You’ll see the same shortening in phrases like un po’ di tempo or un po’ di latte instead of un poco di….

Why do we need di in un po’ di zucchero? Couldn’t we say un po’ zucchero?

In Italian, the quantifier un po’ requires di before a noun, especially with uncountable substances. So un po’ di zucchero literally means “a little bit of sugar.” Omitting di would break the grammatical link between the quantity and the noun.

What does in prestito mean here?

In prestito means “as a loan” or “to borrow.” When you ask in prestito something, you’re requesting to use it temporarily and then return it, just like borrowing a book from the library.

Can we use a prestito instead of in prestito?

Yes, a prestito is also common and interchangeable with in prestito. Both mean “on loan” or “to borrow,” though in prestito is slightly more frequent in everyday speech.

What’s the difference between chiedere and domandare?

• Chiedere is used when you request something (an object, a favor, information).
• Domandare often focuses on asking a question or making an inquiry.
  So you chiedi sugar or help, and you domandi un’informazione.

Why is the article la used with vicina instead of una?

Choosing la vicina suggests the speaker and listener both know which neighbor is meant (the one next door, for example). Using una vicina would introduce an unspecified neighbor, like “a neighbor.”

Could we say La vicina chiede in prestito un po’ di zucchero? Is that sentence correct?

Absolutely. Swapping in prestito before un po’ di zucchero is fine and doesn’t change the meaning. It’s a matter of emphasis or personal style; both word orders are grammatically correct.

Why don’t we say del zucchero instead of un po’ di zucchero?

Del zucchero is the partitive form of di + il zucchero, meaning “some sugar,” but it’s less precise. Un po’ di zucchero explicitly means “a little bit of sugar,” highlighting the small quantity requested.

Why isn’t there an indirect object pronoun like mi (e.g., La vicina mi chiede…)?

Italian can drop the indirect object when context makes it clear. Here, we understand the neighbor is asking the speaker. If you want to be explicit, you can say La vicina mi chiede un po’ di zucchero in prestito, but omitting mi is perfectly natural when it’s obvious who’s being asked.