Learn Italian: Vedo il cielo dal tetto del palazzo. - I see the sky from the roof of the building.

Vedo il cielo dal tetto del palazzo.

I see the sky from the roof of the building.

Breakdown of Vedo il cielo dal tetto del palazzo.

Questions & Answers about Vedo il cielo dal tetto del palazzo.

This sentence uses both dal and del. How do we know which one to use?

Dal comes from combining da (from) + il (the). We use it here to show the physical vantage point: "from the roof". Del comes from di (of) + il (the), showing possession or belonging: "the roof of the building".

If del is made from di + il, why doesn't it become dil?

When the preposition di combines with any definite article (il, la, i, etc.), the letter i in di changes to an e. So, di + il becomes del. On the other hand, da keeps its a, so da + il simply combines to form dal.

Does palazzo mean "palace"?

It can, but in everyday Italian, a palazzo usually just means a large building or a multi-story apartment building. It is a common "false friend" for English speakers!

Why isn't there an io (I) before vedo?