Learn Italian: Spesso, il nomade è isolato dal mondo. - Often, the nomad is isolated from the world.

Spesso, il nomade è isolato dal mondo.

Often, the nomad is isolated from the world.

Breakdown of Spesso, il nomade è isolato dal mondo.

from the; to/at the (da + il)

Questions & Answers about Spesso, il nomade è isolato dal mondo.

How would we rewrite this sentence to say 'Often, one is isolated from the world' using the impersonal 'si'?

You would say Spesso, si è isolati dal mondo. As you are learning in this lesson, when using the impersonal si with the verb essere (to be), the adjective that follows must take the plural form (isolati instead of isolato), even though 'one' feels singular in English.

Why does nomade end in -e but use the masculine article il and masculine adjective isolato?

Nouns ending in -e can be either masculine or feminine. The word nomade is actually the exact same for both genders! We know it is masculine in this specific sentence because of the article il and the adjective ending in -o (isolato). If it were a female nomad, it would be la nomade è isolata.

Is è isolato the passive voice or just an adjective?

It acts as both! It describes a state of being (acting as an adjective), but it is also the passive voice of the verb isolare (to isolate). Because it uses the auxiliary verb essere (to be), the past participle isolato must agree in gender and number with the subject (il nomade).

Why do we use dal instead of just da before mondo?