Attento, il pavimento è scivoloso.

Careful, the floor is slippery.

Breakdown of Attento, il pavimento è scivoloso.

• essere: to be
• il pavimento: the floor
• scivoloso: slippery
• attento: be careful

Questions & Answers about Attento, il pavimento è scivoloso.

Is Attento a verb in the imperative, or something else?

Attento is an adjective meaning “careful/attentive,” used elliptically as a warning. The full idea is implied: Stai attento! (Be careful!). So while it functions like an imperative in effect, grammatically it’s an adjective being used as an interjection.

How do I change Attento if I’m talking to a woman or to more than one person?

It agrees with the person(s) addressed:

• one man: Attento!
• one woman: Attenta!
• a mixed group or all men: Attenti!
• a group of women: Attente!

If you make it explicit with a verb:

• informal singular: Stai attento/attenta!
• informal plural: State attenti/attente!
• formal singular (Lei): Stia attento/attenta!

Why is there a comma after Attento?

Because Attento is an interjection/vocative set off from the rest of the sentence: Attento, il pavimento è scivoloso. You could also write two sentences: Attento! Il pavimento è scivoloso. Both are fine.

Why do we say il pavimento and not just pavimento, or lo pavimento?

• Italian generally needs the definite article with a specific singular noun: il pavimento.
• You can’t say lo pavimento because lo is used before words starting with s+consonant, z, gn, ps, pn, x, y (e.g., lo studente, lo zaino, lo psicologo) or before vowels as l’. Pavimento starts with plain p, so it takes il.
• Dropping the article (Pavimento è scivoloso) is ungrammatical in normal sentences (but see signage below).

Is pavimento the right word for “floor”? What about piano or terra?

• pavimento = the surface you walk on indoors (the floor).
• piano = a floor/storey of a building (e.g., primo piano = first floor).
• terra/suolo = the ground/outdoor earth; per terra = on the floor/ground. So here pavimento is the correct choice.

How do you pronounce the sentence?

• Attento: [at-TEN-to] (IPA: [atˈtento]) — double tt is a long consonant; stress on TEN.
• il pavimento: [eel pa-vee-MEN-to] (IPA: [il paviˈmento]) — stress on MEN.
• è: [eh] — open “eh” sound.
• scivoloso: [shee-vo-LOH-zo] (IPA: [ʃivoˈlozo]) — sci = “shee”; stress on LO.

What’s the difference between Attento and Attenzione?

• Attento/Attenta/Attenti/Attente! directly addresses someone (or a group).
• Attenzione! is a general warning, common in public announcements/signs. You can combine it with a colon in signs: Attenzione: pavimento scivoloso.

Why is it è with an accent, and what’s the difference from e?

• è (with grave accent) = “is” (3rd person singular of essere).
• e (no accent) = “and.” Always write the accent on è; in all caps it should still be È. Some people type E' when they lack the accent key, but È is the correct form.

What does scivoloso do here, and how does it agree?

Scivoloso is an adjective meaning “slippery.” It agrees with the noun’s gender/number:

• il pavimento scivoloso
• la strada scivolosa
• i gradini scivolosi
• le scale scivolose It’s derived from the verb scivolare (to slip) + the suffix -oso.

Can I change the word order to emphasize “slippery,” like “Slippery is the floor”?

Yes, for emphasis you can say È scivoloso il pavimento, but the neutral order Il pavimento è scivoloso is far more common in everyday speech.

Are there other natural ways to warn someone here?

Yes:

• Stai attento! Il pavimento è scivoloso.
• Fai attenzione, il pavimento è scivoloso.
• Occhio, il pavimento è scivoloso.
• Attento al pavimento, è scivoloso. (note a + il = al)
• To a group: State attenti, il pavimento è scivoloso.

I often see signs that just say Pavimento scivoloso. Why no article or verb?

That’s sign style: short, noun + adjective, no article or verb, often after Attenzione:. In full sentences, you normally keep the article and verb: Il pavimento è scivoloso.

Why use essere (è) and not stare?

With adjectives describing a state or quality, Italian normally uses essere: Il pavimento è scivoloso. You’d use stare only in specific constructions, e.g., sta diventando scivoloso (it’s becoming slippery), but not sta scivoloso.

Are there useful synonyms for scivoloso?

• bagnato = wet (often implies slippery): Pavimento bagnato.
• sdrucciolevole = slippery (formal/literary).
• viscido = slimy/slick (unpleasantly slippery). Avoid scorrevole here; it means “smooth-running/sliding,” not “slippery.”

How can I make a general warning like “One can slip on the floor”?

Use the impersonal si:

• Si scivola sul pavimento. You can add an adverb: Si scivola facilmente qui.