Il cuoco mescola la zuppa nella pentola con un mestolo di legno.

The cook stirs the soup in the pot with a wooden ladle.

Breakdown of Il cuoco mescola la zuppa nella pentola con un mestolo di legno.

• di: of
• in: in
• con: with
• la zuppa: the soup
• la pentola: the pot
• il legno: the wood
• mescolare: to stir
• il mestolo: the ladle
• il cuoco: the cook

Questions & Answers about Il cuoco mescola la zuppa nella pentola con un mestolo di legno.

Why is the article il used before cuoco instead of using no article or lo?

In Italian, a specific, singular masculine noun normally needs the definite article:

• il is used before most consonants.
• lo is reserved for words beginning with s+consonant, z, gn, ps, x, etc.
  Since cuoco starts with a plain c, we say il cuoco. Omitting the article (“cuoco mescola…”) would sound odd if you mean “the cook” in a definite sense.

Why is mescola used here instead of the infinitive mescolare or another tense?

mescola is the present indicative, third person singular of the verb mescolare (“to stir”):

• io mescolo
• tu mescoli
• lui/lei mescola
  Because the subject (il cuoco) is “he,” we use mescola to express “he stirs.”

Why is the definite article la used before zuppa?

Here la zuppa is the direct object (“the soup”):

• Italian generally uses the definite article with specific or known objects.
• If you say mescolare la zuppa, you mean you’re stirring that soup.
  Dropping it (mescolare zuppa) would sound like you’re speaking very generically or abstractly.

What is nella, and how is it formed? Why not “in la pentola” or “nel pentola”?

nella is a contraction of in + la:

• in means “in” or “inside.”
• la is the feminine singular definite article.
  So in + la pentola → nella pentola.
  You cannot use nel (in + il) because pentola is feminine.

What role does con play in con un mestolo di legno, and can I use a different word?

con here is the instrumental preposition, showing the tool used to stir:

• “with a wooden ladle.”
  You could rephrase with usando
  • gerund for “using…”:
     usando un mestolo di legno
    But con
    • noun is more direct and very common.

Why is un used before mestolo instead of il or no article?

un is the indefinite article for masculine singular nouns:

• It indicates one ladle, unspecified.
• If you said il mestolo, it’d mean “the ladle” (a specific one).
• Omitting the article (mestolo di legno) sounds more like a label or a recipe heading, not a natural sentence.

What does di in di legno indicate, and what’s the difference between di legno and in legno?

di marks material or composition when used as a noun complement:

• un mestolo di legno = a ladle made of wood.
  By contrast, in legno functions more like an adjective phrase:
• un mestolo in legno also means “a wooden ladle,” often describing its style or characteristic.
  Both are correct, but di legno literally emphasizes the material.