Aggiungo un uovo all’impasto.

I add an egg to the dough.

Breakdown of Aggiungo un uovo all’impasto.

• io: I
• aggiungere: to add
• a: to
• l'impasto: the dough
• l'uovo: the egg

Questions & Answers about Aggiungo un uovo all’impasto.

What verb form is aggiungo?

Aggiungo is the first-person singular (io) present indicative of aggiungere (to add).

• Present: io aggiungo, tu aggiungi, lui/lei aggiunge, noi aggiungiamo, voi aggiungete, loro aggiungono
• Past participle: aggiunto (with avere: ho aggiunto = I added)

Why is it un uovo, not uno uovo or un’uovo?

• uovo is masculine singular, so the correct indefinite article before a vowel is un: un uovo.
• uno is used before s+consonant, z, gn, ps, x, y (e.g., uno studente), not before vowels.
• un’ is only for feminine nouns before a vowel (e.g., un’amica). Since uovo is masculine in the singular, un’uovo is wrong.

Is uovo masculine or feminine? What about the plural?

• Singular: masculine — un uovo fresco, l’uovo.
• Plural: irregular feminine — le uova fresche (not “gli uovi”).
• Agreement changes accordingly: un uovo grande, but due uova grandi; le mie uova.

What does all’ in all’impasto stand for?

It’s the contraction of the preposition plus article: a + l’ = all’ (because impasto starts with a vowel and takes l’ as the definite article). Other forms: al (a+il), allo (a+lo), alla (a+la), ai/agli/alle.

Could I say al impasto instead of all’impasto?

No. You can’t say il impasto; it must be l’impasto before a vowel. Therefore, with a it becomes all’impasto, not “al impasto”.

What’s the nuance between all’impasto and nell’impasto?

• all’impasto literally “to the dough/mixture.” With aggiungere, Italian commonly says aggiungere X all’impasto.
• nell’impasto literally “in/into the dough.” Very common with mettere: mettere X nell’impasto. In practice, both are understandable and often interchangeable in recipes; choice depends on the verb and style.

Can I swap the word order and say Aggiungo all’impasto un uovo?

Yes. Both Aggiungo un uovo all’impasto and Aggiungo all’impasto un uovo are natural. The second can lightly foreground where you’re adding it.

Why is there a definite article before impasto? Could I leave it out?

Italian typically uses articles with singular countable nouns. Here, l’impasto means “the (specific) dough you’re working with.” Omitting the article sounds wrong. If you meant a non-specific dough, you’d need an article too: a un impasto (“to a dough”), but that’s rare contextually.

How do I say “I will add,” “I added,” or “I am adding”?

• Future: aggiungerò un uovo all’impasto (I will add)
• Present progressive: sto aggiungendo un uovo all’impasto (I am adding)
• Passato prossimo: ho aggiunto un uovo all’impasto (I added)
• Imperfect (ongoing in the past): aggiungevo un uovo all’impasto (I was adding / used to add)

What are good recipe synonyms for aggiungere?

• mettere: to put (neutral, very common) — Metto un uovo nell’impasto
• incorporare: to fold/incorporate (mix in until absorbed) — Incorporo un uovo
• unire: to combine — Unisco un uovo all’impasto
• versare: to pour (liquids) — Verso il latte nell’impasto Aggiungere is the default “add.”

Can I use pronouns like ci, ne, or object pronouns here?

Yes.

• Replace “to the dough” with locative ci: Ci aggiungo un uovo = I add an egg to it.
• Refer to “eggs” already mentioned with ne (of them): Ne aggiungo uno (all’impasto) = I add one (of them).
• Combine: Ce ne aggiungo uno = I add one of them to it.
• If it’s a specific egg (l’uovo), you can use lo: Ce lo aggiungo = I add it to it.

How do I pronounce aggiungo and impasto?

• aggiungo: ag-GIUN-go [adˈdʒuŋɡo]. The gg before i sounds like English “j,” and ng is like the “ng” in “sing” plus a hard g.
• impasto: im-PA-sto [imˈpasto]. Stress the second syllable.

If we had already identified the egg, would I use l’uovo instead of un uovo?

Yes. For a specific, known egg: Aggiungo l’uovo all’impasto = I add the egg to the dough. Use un uovo when introducing a non-specific egg.

How do I say I’m adding only some egg (e.g., a bit of beaten egg)?

Use a partitive or quantifier:

• Aggiungo dell’uovo (sbattuto) = I add some (beaten) egg.
• Aggiungo un po’ di uovo (sbattuto) = I add a bit of (beaten) egg.

Is impasto the same as pasta or pastella?

Not exactly:

• impasto: dough/mixture (bread, pizza, cake mixes, etc.).
• pasta: usually pasta (noodles), but in names like pasta frolla/sfoglia it means a specific type of dough.
• pastella: batter (runny mixture, e.g., for frying).