Breakdown of Il fiore esotico, il cui seme è raro, sboccia in primavera.
essere
to be
il fiore
the flower
in
in / made of (material)
la primavera
spring
raro
rare
il seme
the seed
il cui
whose (il cui, la cui, i cui, le cui)
esotico
exotic
sbocciare
to bloom
Questions & Answers about Il fiore esotico, il cui seme è raro, sboccia in primavera.
Does the 'il' in il cui seme match the flower or the seed?
It matches the seed! When using cui to mean "whose", the definite article right before it must agree in gender and number with the noun being possessed (the seed, il seme), not the owner (the flower, il fiore). Because seme is masculine singular, we use il cui.
How do we know if seme is masculine or feminine since it ends in '-e'?
Why is it just in primavera instead of nella primavera (in the spring)?
In Italian, seasons generally take the preposition in without a definite article. So you will normally say in primavera, in estate, in autunno, and in inverno. You only add the article if you are specifying a particular spring, like nella primavera del 2020 (in the spring of 2020).
What is the infinitive of sboccia?
The infinitive is sbocciare, a regular -are verb meaning "to bloom" or "to blossom". While it's most commonly used for plants, it can also be used figuratively for a person's talent or a new relationship.
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