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
cathedral
da
by (agent of a passive verb)
ammirare
to admire
il turista
the tourist
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?
Nouns ending in -ista (like turista or dentista) are identical for both masculine and feminine in the singular: il turista (male) and la turista (female). However, in the plural, they split: masculine or mixed groups become -isti (i turisti) and exclusively feminine groups become -iste (le turiste). Since this is a general group of tourists, it takes the masculine plural form.
Learn Oggi la cattedrale è ammirata da troppi turisti 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