Learn Italian: Niente è fatto di plastica nell'archivio, c'è solo legno e polvere. - Nothing is made of plastic in the archive, there is only wood and dust.

Niente è fatto di plastica nell'archivio, c'è solo legno e polvere.

Nothing is made of plastic in the archive, there is only wood and dust.

Breakdown of Niente è fatto di plastica nell'archivio, c'è solo legno e polvere.

in / made of (material)

Questions & Answers about Niente è fatto di plastica nell'archivio, c'è solo legno e polvere.

Why isn't there a non before the verb if the sentence uses niente?

Because niente is placed before the verb as the subject. When negative words like niente, nessuno, or mai come before the verb, you do not use non. If we put niente after the verb, we would need it: Non è fatto niente di plastica.

Why does the sentence use fatto instead of fatta, since plastica is feminine?

The word fatto (made) agrees with the subject of the sentence, which is niente (nothing). In Italian, niente is treated as masculine singular, so we use fatto. The word plastica just tells us what the material is.

Why is it nell'archivio instead of just in l'archivio?

In Italian, the preposition in always merges with the definite article that follows it. Since archivio starts with a vowel, it takes the article l'. When you combine in and l', it becomes the single combined word nell'.

I thought solo meant alone. Why is it translated as only here?

Solo can mean either alone or only depending on how it is used. When it acts as an adjective describing a person or thing, it means alone. But in this sentence, it acts as an adverb meaning only or just: there is only wood and dust.