Log inSign up

Il coltello è sul tavolo.

Il coltello è sul tavolo.
The knife is on the table.
From Lesson 66:Meals and eating (fare colazione, pranzare)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Il coltello è sul tavolo.

Why is there an accent mark on è?
The accent on è (meaning "is") is very important because it distinguishes it from e without an accent, which means "and". Without the accent, this sentence would read "The knife and on the table," which wouldn't make sense!
What exactly is sul?
Sul translates to "on the". In Italian, when the preposition su (on) is followed right away by the definite article il (the), they combine into a single word. So, su + il becomes sul.
I've also seen the word tavola used for "table". Why is it tavolo here?
In Italian, il tavolo (masculine) usually refers to the everyday physical piece of furniture, which is why a single knife is just sitting on it here. The feminine version, la tavola, is specifically used when a table is fully set for a meal or when talking about dining.
Do I need to do anything special to pronounce the double 'L' in coltello?
Yes! Double consonants in Italian are pronounced slightly longer and stronger than single ones. When saying coltello, hold your tongue on the "L" sound for a split second longer than you normally would in English.

Learn Il coltello è sul tavolo and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Italian →