Learn Italian: Il bambino tocca il muro e sta sporcandolo. - The child touches the wall and is getting it dirty.

Il bambino tocca il muro e sta sporcandolo.

The child touches the wall and is getting it dirty.

Breakdown of Il bambino tocca il muro e sta sporcandolo.

to stay, to feel, to be

him/it (direct object)

Questions & Answers about Il bambino tocca il muro e sta sporcandolo.

Why is lo attached to the end of sporcando? Can it go anywhere else?

Yes! With the progressive tense (stare + gerund), object pronouns like lo can either attach to the end of the gerund (sta sporcandolo) or go right before the conjugated verb (lo sta sporcando). Both are completely correct and mean the exact same thing.

Does the spelling of the gerund change when you attach a pronoun to it?

No. Unlike infinitives, which drop their final 'e' before attaching a pronoun (like sporcarlo), gerunds keep all their letters. You simply stick the pronoun directly onto the end: sporcando + lo becomes sporcandolo.

Why use lo instead of la?

The pronoun lo means 'it' and refers back to il muro (the wall). Since muro is a masculine singular noun, you must use the masculine singular direct object pronoun lo.

The English translation says 'is getting it dirty'. Is there a verb for 'getting' here?

Not literally. English often uses the phrase 'to get something dirty', but Italian uses a single, specific verb for this: sporcare (to dirty or to soil). By putting it in the progressive form (sta sporcando), it translates naturally to 'is getting dirty'.