Breakdown of Chiudo sempre la porta d’ingresso quando esco di casa.
io
I
chiudere
to close
di
of
la casa
the house
quando
when
sempre
always
uscire
to leave
la porta d’ingresso
the front door
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Questions & Answers about Chiudo sempre la porta d’ingresso quando esco di casa.
Why is the subject pronoun missing in Chiudo sempre la porta d’ingresso…?
Italian is a “pro-drop” language: the verb ending chiudo already tells you the subject is “io,” so you don’t need to say io chiudo unless you want to emphasize the person.
Why is the adverb sempre placed between the verb and the object?
Adverbs of frequency like sempre normally follow the verb in Italian. Placing it between the verb and its object (chiudo sempre la porta) is natural and stresses how often the action happens.
What does d’ingresso mean, and why the apostrophe?
Ingresso means “entrance.” When you attach the preposition di to the definite article l’ (before a vowel), they contract: di + l’ → d’, giving d’ingresso.
Could I say la porta di ingresso instead of la porta d’ingresso?
Yes, la porta di ingresso is grammatically correct. Stylistically, native speakers often contract it to d’ingresso for euphony, but both forms convey the same meaning.
Why do we say esco di casa instead of esco da casa?
The idiomatic expression for “leaving home” is uscire di casa, so learners usually say esco di casa. You will also hear esco da casa, and it’s understood, but di casa is the more established usage.
Could you use a different noun instead of porta d’ingresso?
Yes. You could say porta principale (“main door”) or porta d’entrata—entrata being a synonym of ingresso—and keep the contraction as d’entrata.
Why use porta here instead of a word like uscio?
Porta is the general term for “door” in modern Italian. Uscio exists but is literary or dialectal, so learners stick with porta in everyday speech.