Learn Italian: Il treno parte di mattina. - The train leaves in the morning.

Il treno parte di mattina.

The train leaves in the morning.

Breakdown of Il treno parte di mattina.

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Italian grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Italian now

Questions & Answers about Il treno parte di mattina.

Why does parte end in -e?

Parte comes from the verb partire (to leave). For regular -ire verbs like this one, the 'he/she/it' form ends in -e. Since il treno (the train) acts as an 'it', we drop the -ire and add -e.

How would you change this to say 'the trains leave'?

You would say i treni partono. For regular -ire verbs, the 'they' form (used for plural subjects) ends in -ono.

Why use di here instead of a word that literally means 'in'?

In Italian, the small word di (which usually means 'of') is commonly used to express a general time of day. So di mattina is the natural, everyday way to say 'in the morning'. You will also see this pattern in di sera (in the evening) and di notte (at night).

Could I say la mattina instead of di mattina?

Yes! Il treno parte la mattina is also correct and means the exact same thing. Both di mattina and la mattina are very common ways to express that something happens in the morning.