Oggi la cattedrale è ammirata da troppi turisti.
Today the cathedral is admired by too many tourists.
Breakdown of Oggi la cattedrale è ammirata da troppi turisti.
essere
to be
oggi
today
troppo
too, too much, too many
la cattedrale
the cathedral
Questions & Answers about Oggi la cattedrale è ammirata da troppi turisti.
Why does the past participle end in -a (ammirata)?
In the passive voice, the past participle must always agree in gender and number with the subject of the sentence. Because the subject receiving the action is la cattedrale (a feminine singular noun), the base participle ammirato changes to ammirata.
Does da always mean "by" in Italian?
Not always; da can also mean "from" or "since." However, in passive sentences like this one, da is the standard preposition used to introduce the agent—the person or thing actually performing the action. So here, da troppi turisti translates exactly to "by too many tourists."
Why is it troppi instead of troppo?
When troppo is used before a noun to mean "too much" or "too many," it acts as an adjective and must agree in gender and number with that noun. Since turisti is masculine plural, troppo becomes troppi. It only stays as the invariable troppo when used as an adverb (like in "mangio troppo" - I eat too much).
The singular word for tourist is turista (ending in -a). Why does it take a masculine adjective (troppi) and end in -i here?