Question 1

Why is it nel garage and not in il garage?

Accepted Answer

In Italian, the preposition in combines with definite articles like il (the) to make a single word. Since garage is a masculine noun that takes il, combining in + il gives you nel. You will almost never see in and il written separately next to each other.

Question 2

Is the word garage masculine or feminine?

Accepted Answer

It is masculine. Even though it is a borrowed word from French, Italian typically assigns masculine gender to foreign loanwords. That is why it uses the article il and combines with in to form nel.

Question 3

How would I say 'in the garages' if there is more than one?

Accepted Answer

You would say nei garage. Foreign words borrowed into Italian usually do not change their endings in the plural. To show there is more than one, you only change the article. The plural of il is i, and combining in + i makes nei.

Question 4

I thought macchina meant machine. Why is it translated as car here?

Accepted Answer

You are right that macchina literally means machine. However, in everyday Italian, it is the most common way to say car. You can also use the word automobile, but macchina is what you will hear most often in casual conversation.

La macchina è nel garage.

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