Learn Italian: Il bambino osserva tutto il recinto. - The child observes the whole enclosure.

Il bambino osserva tutto il recinto.

The child observes the whole enclosure.

Breakdown of Il bambino osserva tutto il recinto.

Questions & Answers about Il bambino osserva tutto il recinto.

Why do we need the word il in tutto il recinto?

In English, you can say 'the whole enclosure', but Italian builds this phrase differently. When tutto means 'all' or 'the whole', it must be followed by a definite article. So it translates literally to 'all the enclosure'.

Why does tutto end in -o here?

The word tutto acts like an adjective and must match the gender and number of the noun it describes. Because recinto (enclosure) is a masculine singular noun, we use the masculine singular form tutto.

If I wanted to say the child observes 'all the enclosures', how would this change?

You would need to change the entire phrase to the plural. Tutto il recinto becomes tutti i recinti to mean 'all the enclosures'.

What is the dictionary form of the verb osserva?

It comes from the verb osservare, which means to observe, to watch, or to look at. It is a regular -are verb, so osserva is the standard present tense form for he, she, or it.