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Breakdown of Rimetti il coperchio sulla pentola, per favore.
su
on
la pentola
the pot
per favore
please
il coperchio
the lid
rimettere
to put back
Questions & Answers about Rimetti il coperchio sulla pentola, per favore.
What grammatical form is “Rimetti”? Is it a command?
Yes. Rimetti is the second-person singular informal imperative of rimettere (“to put back/to put again”), used to give a direct command or request to someone you call tu.
- tu: rimetti
- Lei (formal): rimetta
- noi: rimettiamo (“let’s put back”)
- voi: rimettete (you all)
Why use “rimetti” and not “metti”? What nuance does the prefix ri- add?
The prefix ri- means “again” or “back.” Rimetti il coperchio implies the lid was on before and you’re putting it back on. Metti il coperchio is simply “put the lid on,” with no implication it was there before. You can also say metti di nuovo il coperchio, but rimetti is more concise and idiomatic.
Where is the “you” in the sentence? Why isn’t “tu” written?
Italian is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns are usually omitted because the verb ending shows the subject. Rimetti already signals “you (tu).” You can add tu for emphasis (e.g., Tu rimetti…), but it’s not necessary.
Why is it “il coperchio” and not “lo coperchio”?
Use il before most singular masculine nouns starting with a regular consonant like c-. lo is used before z, s + consonant, gn, pn, ps, x, y, and a few others:
- il coperchio
- but: lo zaino, lo studente, lo gnocco, lo psicologo, lo yogurt.
What are the genders and plurals of “coperchio” and “pentola”?
- il coperchio (masculine singular) → plural i coperchi
- la pentola (feminine singular) → plural le pentole
What exactly is “sulla”? Why not “sul”?
Sulla is the contraction of su + la. You choose the form based on the gender/number of the noun:
- sul = su + il (masc. sing.)
- sulla = su + la (fem. sing., as in la pentola)
- sullo = su + lo
- sull’ = su + l’
- sui = su + i
- sugli = su + gli
- sulle = su + le
Can I use “sopra” instead of “su”? As in “sopra la pentola”?
Yes, sopra la pentola is acceptable and means “on top of the pot.” Nuance:
- su/sulla typically implies contact (“on the surface”).
- sopra can mean either “on top of” or simply “above.” With a lid, sulla pentola is the most straightforward.
Could I say “alla pentola” instead of “sulla pentola”?
You may hear mettere il coperchio alla pentola in some areas, and it’s not ungrammatical, but sulla pentola is more standard and explicitly expresses physical contact (“on”). Use su when you mean “on (top of).”
Where can I put “per favore”? Do I need the comma?
You can place per favore at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end. It’s usually set off by commas in writing:
- Per favore, rimetti il coperchio sulla pentola.
- Rimetti il coperchio sulla pentola, per favore.
- Rimetti, per favore, il coperchio sulla pentola.
How do I say it more politely or more formally?
- Formal (to one person): Rimetta il coperchio sulla pentola, per favore.
- To more than one person: Rimettete il coperchio sulla pentola, per favore.
- Softer, more tentative requests: Puoi/Può rimettere il coperchio…?, Potresti/Potrebbe rimettere…?, or friendly: Mi rimetti il coperchio sulla pentola?
Can I replace “il coperchio” with a pronoun?
Yes. Use the direct object pronoun lo and attach it to the affirmative imperative:
- Rimettilo sulla pentola, per favore. (rimetti + lo → rimettilo)
What if I also want to replace “sulla pentola” with a pronoun?
Use adverbial ci (“on it/there”) along with the object pronoun. In combinations, ci becomes ce before lo/la/li/le/ne:
- Affirmative imperative (attached): Rimetticelo, per favore. (ci + lo → ce lo)
- In a question/non-imperative (separate): Ce lo rimetti (sulla pentola)?
How do I make the sentence negative?
For the tu imperative, use the infinitive with non:
- Non rimettere il coperchio! With pronouns, you can either attach them to the infinitive or put them before:
- Non rimetterlo! / Non lo rimettere!
Could I just say “Copri la pentola”?
Yes. Copri la pentola, per favore is natural and focuses on the result (the pot being covered) rather than the specific action of putting the same lid back on. Both are fine; choose based on context.
Do I really need the articles? Why not drop “il” or “la”?
In standard Italian you normally keep articles with countable nouns. Metti coperchio sounds telegraphic or dialectal; Metti il coperchio is standard.
Any pronunciation tips for these words?
- rimetti: double t—hold it slightly longer; stress on MET: ri-MET-ti.
- coperchio: ch keeps a hard k sound before i; roughly “co-PER-kyo.”
- pentola: stress on the first syllable: PEN-to-la.
- rimetticelo: the ce sounds like “cheh,” and the double t is long: ri-MET-ti-che-lo.
Does “rimettere” have other meanings I should know?
Yes. Besides “put back/again,” it can mean “restore/reset” (rimettere a posto), “remit/waive” (rimettere un debito), “refer/submit” (rimettere una questione a…), and, colloquially, “to throw up” (rimettere) in some contexts. Here, context clearly means “put back.”
Is the word order flexible?
Yes. You can say, for example, Rimetti il coperchio, per favore, sulla pentola (though it’s less smooth), or Rimetti sulla pentola il coperchio. The default and most natural order keeps complements close to the verb as in the original sentence.
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