Learn Italian: Tutto il recinto dei leoni è molto pericoloso. - The whole lion enclosure is very dangerous.

Tutto il recinto dei leoni è molto pericoloso.

The whole lion enclosure is very dangerous.

Breakdown of Tutto il recinto dei leoni è molto pericoloso.

Questions & Answers about Tutto il recinto dei leoni è molto pericoloso.

Why do we need the article il after tutto? Can I just say tutto recinto?

In Italian, when you use tutto (meaning all or the whole) to describe a specific noun, you almost always need the definite article between them. To say the whole enclosure, you must say tutto il recinto. You cannot skip the il.

How does lion enclosure translate to recinto dei leoni?

English often stacks nouns together, like lion enclosure or water bottle. Italian does not do this. Instead, you have to say the enclosure of the lions, using the preposition di (of). Because it refers to plural lions, di combines with the plural article i to make the combined word dei.

Why doesn't the word molto change its ending here?

In this sentence, molto is an adverb meaning very, and it describes how dangerous the enclosure is. Adverbs never change their endings. If molto meant a lot of or many and was attached directly to a noun (like molti leoni), then it would change its ending to match that noun.

Why does pericoloso end in -o when there are plural lions in the sentence?