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Non abbiamo capito niente del manoscritto sullo scaffale.

Non abbiamo capito niente del manoscritto sullo scaffale.
We understood nothing of the manuscript on the shelf.
From Lesson 165:Position of negative indefinites (nessuno, niente)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Non abbiamo capito niente del manoscritto sullo scaffale.

Why are both non and niente used here? Doesn't that make a double negative?
Yes, Italian uses double negatives! When a negative word like niente (nothing) comes after the verb, you must put non before the verb. So Non abbiamo capito niente literally translates to "We did not understand nothing," which is the standard way to say "We understood nothing" in Italian.
Could I put niente before the verb instead?
Yes, but if you put niente before the verb, you must drop the non. You could say Niente abbiamo capito, but this puts heavy emphasis on "nothing" and sounds a bit dramatic or poetic. The non [verb] niente structure used here is the normal, everyday way to say it.
Why does the sentence use del instead of just di before manoscritto?
del is a combination of the preposition di (of/about) and the article il (the). In Italian, you usually need the definite article before a specific noun. Therefore, "of the manuscript" becomes di + il = del manoscritto.
Why is it sullo scaffale instead of sul scaffale?
The preposition su (on) combines with the definite article of the noun that follows it. Because scaffale is a masculine noun starting with an "s" followed by another consonant ("c"), it requires the article lo instead of il. Combining su + lo gives you sullo.

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