Learn Italian: La lampada è sul tavolo del salotto. - The lamp is on the living-room table.

La lampada è sul tavolo del salotto.

The lamp is on the living-room table.

Breakdown of La lampada è sul tavolo del salotto.

of the; than the (di + il)

Questions & Answers about La lampada è sul tavolo del salotto.

Why does the sentence use del salotto instead of translating "living-room table" directly?

English often stacks nouns together, like "living-room table." Italian doesn't do this. Instead, you must use the preposition di (of) to show the relationship, literally saying "the table of the living room." Since salotto uses the article il, di + il combines into del.

How is the word sul formed?

Sul is a combined preposition. It is created by merging su (on) with the definite article il (the). In Italian, prepositions like su, di, a, da, and in almost always merge with the word for "the" when they are right next to each other.

I've also seen the word tavola for table. Why is it tavolo in this sentence?

Tavolo (masculine) refers to the physical piece of furniture, which is exactly what a lamp sits on. Tavola (feminine) usually refers to a table that is set for a meal or the concept of eating together, like when someone shouts that dinner is ready (A tavola!).

Why is it del salotto rather than dello salotto?