Breakdown of Se troviamo qualcosa di nascosto, è sicuramente il tesoro.
essere
to be
trovare
to find
se
if
qualcosa
something
Questions & Answers about Se troviamo qualcosa di nascosto, è sicuramente il tesoro.
Why is there a di between qualcosa and nascosto?
In Italian, when you want to describe an indefinite pronoun like qualcosa (something) or niente (nothing) with an adjective, you must link them using the preposition di. That is why 'something hidden' translates to qualcosa di nascosto.
Since qualcosa ends in 'a', why is the adjective masculine (nascosto) instead of feminine (nascosta)?
Is it okay to use the present tense (troviamo, è) for a future possibility here?
Yes! When talking about a realistic 'if' condition, Italians often use the present tense for both halves of the sentence (If we find... it is...), even when talking about something that might happen in the future.
What verb does nascosto come from?
It comes from the verb nascondere (to hide). Nascosto is its irregular past participle. Just like in English, Italian often uses past participles as adjectives to describe a state, like a 'hidden' treasure.