Breakdown of Il fratello minore infilò il biglietto del tram nella tasca e lo perse subito.
nella
in
e
and
del
of
il biglietto
the ticket
subito
right away
il fratello
the brother
la tasca
the pocket
lo
it
perdere
to lose
minore
younger
il tram
the tram
infilare
to slip
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Questions & Answers about Il fratello minore infilò il biglietto del tram nella tasca e lo perse subito.
Why is minore placed after fratello, and could we say minore fratello instead?
In Italian most descriptive adjectives follow the noun, so fratello minore (“younger brother”) is the normal order. Saying minore fratello sounds unnatural. Some adjectives can precede for poetic or emphatic effect, but minore almost always comes after fratello.
Why use minore here instead of più giovane or fratello più piccolo?
Minore is the shorter (synthetic) comparative of piccolo, equivalent to “younger.” You could also say fratello più giovane or fratello più piccolo, but minore is more concise and common in written Italian.
What tense is infilò, and how does it differ from ha infilato?
Infilò is the 3rd-person singular in the passato remoto of infilare (“to slip/insert”). It’s used in literary or formal narratives to describe a completed past action. In everyday spoken Italian you’d usually use the passato prossimo, i.e. ha infilato.
What exactly does infilare mean, and how is it different from mettere?
Both verbs can mean “to put,” but infilare implies slipping something into a narrow opening or slot (e.g. a ticket into a pocket). Mettere is more general (“to put/place”) and doesn’t carry that nuance of sliding into something.
Why is it nella tasca? How does nella form, and why isn’t there a possessive (like sua) before tasca?
Nella is the contraction of in + la (“in the”). Italian often drops a possessive adjective before body parts, clothing, or personal items when the owner is clear. Here it’s understood that it’s his pocket, so nella sua tasca becomes simply nella tasca.
What does del mean in biglietto del tram?
Del is the contraction of di + il, so biglietto del tram literally means “ticket of the tram,” i.e. tram ticket. Every time you have di + il, it becomes del.
What is the pronoun lo referring to, and why is it placed before perse?
Lo is a direct-object clitic pronoun replacing il biglietto. In Italian, clitic pronouns normally come before a conjugated verb, so you say lo perse (“he lost it”), not perse lo.
What does subito add to the sentence, and could it go in a different position?
Subito means “immediately” or “right away,” emphasizing how quickly he lost the ticket. It most often follows the verb (lo perse subito), though in spoken or colloquial usage you might occasionally hear subito lo perse, but that feels less smooth in narrative.