Learn Italian: Metto il piatto vuoto qui. - I put the empty plate here.

Metto il piatto vuoto qui.

I put the empty plate here.

Breakdown of Metto il piatto vuoto qui.

to put / to put on / play (music)

Questions & Answers about Metto il piatto vuoto qui.

Why is there no word for "I" in this sentence?

The word metto comes from the regular verb mettere (to put). To make the "I" form for regular -ere verbs, you drop the -ere and add -o. Because the -o ending clearly means "I", Italians usually leave out the pronoun io (I).

Why does the adjective vuoto come after piatto?

In Italian, descriptive adjectives like vuoto (empty) usually come after the noun they describe. So, instead of saying "the empty plate", the sentence is ordered as "the plate empty".

Does the ending of vuoto change depending on the object?

Yes! Adjectives must match the gender and number of the noun they describe. Piatto is a masculine singular noun, so we use vuoto. If the object were feminine, like la tazza (the cup), it would change to vuota.

Both metto and piatto have a double T. How do I pronounce them?

When you see a double consonant in Italian, you hold the sound a little longer than a single consonant. For the double T in metto and piatto, make a tiny pause with your tongue against your teeth before releasing the sound.