Il profumo dell’arrosto riempie la cucina.

the kitchen

Breakdown of Il profumo dell’arrosto riempie la cucina.

• riempire: to fill
• il profumo: the smell
• l’arrosto: the roast

Questions & Answers about Il profumo dell’arrosto riempie la cucina.

What does dell’arrosto mean, and why is there an apostrophe?

Dell’arrosto means of the roast.

It is made from:

• di = of
• il = the

Normally, di + il = del. But before a word beginning with a vowel, Italian uses dell’:

• di + l’ / dello-type form before a vowel → dell’
• arrosto begins with a, so you get dell’arrosto

So:

• il profumo dell’arrosto = the smell/aroma of the roast

Why does Italian use il and la here?

Italian uses definite articles more often than English does.

Here:

• il profumo = the aroma/smell
• la cucina = the kitchen

In English, you might sometimes say Roast smell fills the kitchen in a poetic way, but Italian normally wants the articles:

• Il profumo dell’arrosto riempie la cucina.

This sounds natural and standard.

Is arrosto an adjective or a noun here?