Log inSign up

Lo specchio vecchio è nell'armadio.

Lo specchio vecchio è nell'armadio.
The old mirror is in the wardrobe.
From Lesson 47:Articulated prepositions with in (nel, nella)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Lo specchio vecchio è nell'armadio.

Why do we use "nell'" instead of "in l'" for "in the"?
In Italian, the preposition in combines with the definite article ("the") that follows it to make one word. Since armadio starts with a vowel, it takes the article l'. When you combine in + l', it morphs into nell'.
Why is the article Lo used for specchio instead of Il?
Specchio is a masculine noun, but it starts with an "s" followed by a consonant (the letter "p"). Masculine words starting with this specific combination (often called an "impure s") always take lo instead of the usual il.
Why is it specchio vecchio instead of vecchio specchio?
In English, we put the descriptive adjective before the noun ("old mirror"). In Italian, descriptive adjectives like vecchio generally come after the noun they describe. So, the sentence is structured as "The mirror old".
Why is there an accent mark on the word è?
The accent mark is required because it changes the meaning entirely! With the grave accent, è is the verb meaning "is". Without the accent, e simply means "and".

Learn Lo specchio vecchio è nell'armadio and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Italian →