Breakdown of Il naso del cane è freddo.
essere
to be
il cane
the dog
freddo
cold
del
of the; than the (di + il)
il naso
the nose
Questions & Answers about Il naso del cane è freddo.
Why do we say del cane instead of using an apostrophe 's' for possession?
Italian doesn't use an apostrophe 's' to show ownership. Instead, you always use the structure 'the [object] of the [owner]'. Here, that means 'the nose of the dog'.
How exactly is the word del formed?
Del is a combined word called an articulated preposition. It merges di (of) with the definite article il (the). Because cane takes the article il, the phrase becomes del cane.
Why does the sentence use è freddo (is cold) when people usually say ho freddo (I am cold)?
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