Breakdown of Il gatto dorme sul balcone.
il gatto
cat
dormire
to sleep
su
on, about
il balcone
balcony
sul
on the; about the (su + il)
Questions & Answers about Il gatto dorme sul balcone.
Why is it 'sul' instead of just 'su'?
sul is a combination of the preposition su (on) and the masculine singular article il (the). Because balcone (balcony) uses il, they merge together into sul.
'Balcone' ends in '-e', so how do we know it needs the masculine article 'il' (in 'sul')?
Why does 'dorme' end in '-e' if it's the 'he/she/it' form?
Can this sentence also mean 'The cat is sleeping on the balcony'?
Yes! The Italian present tense covers both the simple present ('sleeps') and the present continuous ('is sleeping'). You will usually understand which one is meant from the context.
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