Learn Italian: La busta è senza francobollo. - The envelope is without a stamp.

La busta è senza francobollo.

The envelope is without a stamp.

Breakdown of La busta è senza francobollo.

Questions & Answers about La busta è senza francobollo.

Why is there no word for "a" before francobollo?

In Italian, after the preposition senza (without), you usually drop the indefinite article (un, una) when talking about a general item. So "without a stamp" translates simply to senza francobollo.

Since I am learning about pronouns after prepositions, how would I say "without me"? Is it "senza me"?

Actually, senza is a special preposition. When you use it with a pronoun, you must add the word di. So "without me" becomes senza di me, and "without you" is senza di te. However, as you see in this sentence, when it is followed by a regular noun like francobollo, you just use senza by itself.

How do you pronounce the double L in francobollo?

In Italian, double consonants are pronounced slightly longer and stronger than single ones. For the ll in francobollo, hold your tongue in the "L" position for an extra beat before making the final "o" sound.

Is francobollo a compound word?

Yes! It combines franco (meaning "free" or "paid for", showing the delivery is already covered) and bollo (a stamp or seal). Put them together and you get a postage stamp!