Vedo qualcosa di strano nella buca, è un tesoro nascosto!

Questions & Answers about Vedo qualcosa di strano nella buca, è un tesoro nascosto!

Why is there a di before strano?
In Italian, when you want to describe an indefinite pronoun like qualcosa (something) or niente (nothing) with an adjective, you must put the preposition di between them. So 'something strange' becomes qualcosa di strano.
If the 'something' I am looking at is a feminine object, would I say qualcosa di strana?
No, it remains qualcosa di strano. When an adjective follows qualcosa di or niente di, it always stays in the default masculine singular form, regardless of what the 'something' actually is.
Why is it nella buca and not just in la buca?
In Italian, the preposition in (in) always combines with the definite article that follows it. Since buca (hole) is feminine singular, it takes the article la. The words in + la merge into the single combined word nella.
Is nascosto a verb in this sentence?
It is the past participle of the verb nascondere (to hide), but in this sentence it acts exactly like an adjective describing the noun tesoro (treasure). Just like a normal adjective, it changes its ending to match the masculine singular noun it describes.

Learn Vedo qualcosa di strano nella buca, è un tesoro nascosto and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • Practice with interactive exercises
  • Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • Learn at your own pace — completely free