Al centro commerciale prendo la scala mobile per salire al terzo piano.

At the mall I take the escalator to go up to the third floor.

Breakdown of Al centro commerciale prendo la scala mobile per salire al terzo piano.

• io: I
• prendere: to take
• salire: to go up
• a: at
• a: to
• il piano: the floor
• terzo: third
• il centro commerciale: the mall
• la scala mobile: the escalator

Questions & Answers about Al centro commerciale prendo la scala mobile per salire al terzo piano.

Why does this sentence start with Al centro commerciale? What does al mean here?

Al is the contraction of the preposition a ("to/at") + the definite article il ("the").
– Al centro commerciale literally means “at the shopping mall.”
– It functions as an adverbial phrase of place, setting the location before the main action.

What does prendo mean in this sentence? Can it also mean “I catch”?

Prendo comes from prendere, which means “to take.”
– Italians use prendere for vehicles or modes of transport (bus, train, taxi) and mechanical devices like escalators.
– In English you might say “catch the bus,” but Italian always says prendere l’autobus. Likewise prendo la scala mobile = “I take the escalator.”

Why is it la scala mobile and not le scale mobili? Aren’t there usually two escalators?

Although many malls have two sides, Italian treats scala mobile as a single concept (“the escalator”).
– This singular form is the standard term.
– If you want to emphasize both sides, you could say le scale mobili (“the escalators”), but most speakers simply say la scala mobile.

What role does mobile play in scala mobile? Doesn’t mobile mean “cell phone”?

Here mobile is an adjective meaning “movable.”
– Scala mobile is a compound noun: “movable stairs” → escalator.
– In Italian, “cell phone” is il cellulare, not il mobile.

Why do we say per salire? What does per do before an infinitive?

When per precedes an infinitive, it expresses purpose or in order to.
– Per salire = “in order to go up.”
– This construction links the means (taking the escalator) with the goal (reaching the third floor).

Why is it salire al terzo piano and not salire fino al terzo piano or andare su al terzo piano?

– Salire means “to go up/rise.”
– It naturally pairs with a + il = al for the destination: salire al terzo piano = “go up to the third floor.”
– Salire fino al terzo piano is possible but more formal/emphatic.
– Andare su al terzo piano is understandable but less idiomatic than salire al terzo piano.

What does terzo piano mean? How are ordinal numbers written here?

– Terzo is the ordinal “third.”
– Piano means “floor” or “storey.”
– Together, terzo piano = “third floor.”
– Ordinals can be spelled out (terzo, quarto) or abbreviated (3° piano), but full words are common in prose.

What part of speech is commerciale in centro commerciale? How does it agree?

Commerciale is an adjective modifying centro (“center”).
– It must agree in number and gender: singular masculine here → commerciale.
– In the plural it becomes centri commerciali (“shopping centers”).
– Adjectives ending in -e form plurals in -i.