Il ristorante dell'aeroporto è aperto.

Questions & Answers about Il ristorante dell'aeroporto è aperto.

Why is it dell'aeroporto instead of just di aeroporto?
In Italian, when the preposition di (of) is followed by a definite article like l' (the), they combine into a single word called an articulated preposition. Since aeroporto takes the article l', combining di + l' gives you dell'.
Why does Italian say il ristorante dell'aeroporto instead of "l'aeroporto ristorante"?
In English, we can place two nouns together to make phrases like "airport restaurant". Italian doesn't do this. You usually have to use a preposition like di (of) to show the relationship, literally saying "the restaurant of the airport".
How do I know whether to use del, dello, or dell' here?
It all depends on the noun's definite article (the word for "the"). Because aeroporto starts with a vowel, its article is l'. When you combine di + l', you get dell'. If the word was treno (train), which uses il, you would use del (di + il).
Why does aperto end in -o?
Aperto (open) acts as an adjective here, so its ending must match the noun it describes. Since il ristorante is a masculine, singular noun, aperto gets the masculine, singular -o ending. If we were talking about la farmacia (the pharmacy), it would be aperta.

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