Breakdown of C'è una mela nel frigorifero.
una
a / an (feminine)
la mela
the apple
c'è
there is / there are
in
in / made of (material)
Questions & Answers about C'è una mela nel frigorifero.
Why do we use nel instead of just in?
In Italian, when the preposition in (in) is followed by a definite article like il (the), they combine into a single word. Because frigorifero is a masculine noun starting with a consonant, it takes the article il. When you combine in + il, you get nel.
How would this change if the apple was in a feminine place, like cucina (kitchen)?
What exactly is C'è a combination of?
C'è translates to "there is". It is a combination of ci (there) and è (is). The letter i drops out and is replaced by an apostrophe because the next word starts with a vowel, making it smoother to pronounce.
Is there a shorter way to say frigorifero?