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L'ufficio è aperto o chiuso oggi?

L'ufficio è aperto o chiuso oggi?
Is the office open or closed today?
From Lesson 11:Special singular articles (lo, l')·Italian

Breakdown of L'ufficio è aperto o chiuso oggi?

essere
to be
oggi
today
aperto
open
chiuso
closed
o
or
l'ufficio
the office (m)

Questions & Answers about L'ufficio è aperto o chiuso oggi?

Why does the sentence use L'ufficio instead of Il ufficio or Lo ufficio?
Masculine words usually take il or lo for 'the'. But because ufficio starts with a vowel, the article drops its own vowel and uses an apostrophe to become l'. This makes the two words blend together so they are easier to say smoothly!
Why doesn't the Italian sentence start with È (Is) to make it a question?
In English, we swap the word order to ask a question ('The office is' becomes 'Is the office'). In Italian, you don't have to change the word order at all! You just write it exactly like a normal statement (L'ufficio è... meaning 'The office is...') and add a question mark. You show it is a question just by raising the pitch of your voice at the end.
Why do both aperto and chiuso end in -o?
Both aperto (open) and chiuso (closed) are adjectives describing the noun ufficio (office). Since ufficio is a masculine, singular word, the adjectives must match it by using the standard masculine singular -o ending.
How do you pronounce the ch in chiuso?
In Italian, the letter combination ch is always pronounced with a hard 'k' sound, never like the 'ch' in the English word 'church'. So, chiuso is pronounced like 'KYOO-zo'.

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