Breakdown of Un'arancia è uno spuntino ottimo.
essere
to be
una
a / an (feminine)
uno
a / an (masculine special)
lo spuntino
the snack
ottimo
excellent
l'arancia
the orange (f)
Questions & Answers about Un'arancia è uno spuntino ottimo.
Why is there an apostrophe in un'arancia?
Because arancia is a feminine noun that starts with a vowel. Normally, the feminine word for "a" or "an" is una. When a feminine noun starts with a vowel, the final a is dropped to make pronunciation smoother, and we replace it with an apostrophe: una + arancia = un'arancia.
Why do we use uno for spuntino instead of just un?
Would I also use the apostrophe for a masculine word starting with a vowel?
No! The apostrophe is only used for feminine words starting with a vowel (where una shrinks to un'). For masculine words starting with a vowel, you just use the normal un without an apostrophe. Because of this rule, seeing un' tells you right away that the noun is feminine.
Why does ottimo come after spuntino?
In Italian, descriptive adjectives usually come after the noun they describe. So instead of saying "an excellent snack" like in English, you say uno spuntino ottimo (a snack excellent). Ottimo is a very common and useful adjective meaning "excellent" or "very good."
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