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Metto le chiavi sulla scrivania.

Metto le chiavi sulla scrivania.
I put the keys on the desk.
From Lesson 50:Articulated prepositions with su (sul, sulla)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Metto le chiavi sulla scrivania.

Why is it sulla and not just su la?
In Italian, when the preposition su (on) is followed by a definite article like la (the), they must combine into a single word called an articulated preposition. Since scrivania (desk) is feminine singular, it takes the article la, so su + la becomes sulla.
Why is the article le used for chiavi? Doesn't the -i ending mean it is masculine plural?
Not always! Chiave (key) is a feminine noun that ends in -e in the singular. Nouns ending in -e change to -i in the plural, regardless of whether they are masculine or feminine. Because it is a feminine plural noun, it takes the feminine plural article le.
Where is the word for 'I' in this sentence?
In Italian, the subject pronoun io (I) is usually dropped because the verb ending already tells us who is doing the action. The -o ending in metto makes it clear that 'I' am the one putting the keys on the desk.
If I put the keys on a table instead, would it be sulla tavolo?
No, because tavolo (table) is a masculine singular noun. It uses the article il, so you would combine su + il to make sul, resulting in sul tavolo.

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