Breakdown of Il cappotto non è sobrio. Al contrario, è vistoso e tutti se ne accorgono!
essere
to be
e
and
non
not
tutto
everything
il cappotto
the coat
ne
of it / of them / some (pronoun)
accorgersi
to notice / to realize (to become aware)
vistoso
flashy
sobrio
understated
al contrario
on the contrary
Questions & Answers about Il cappotto non è sobrio. Al contrario, è vistoso e tutti se ne accorgono!
Could I use bensì instead of al contrario in this sentence?
Not exactly as it is written. Bensì is a conjunction (meaning 'but rather'), so it joins two parts of a single sentence. To use it, you would need to combine the sentences: Il cappotto non è sobrio, bensì è vistoso. Because this text uses two separate sentences, the adverbial phrase al contrario (on the contrary) is the perfect choice to begin the second one.
Why does the Italian say se ne accorgono instead of just using a direct object like lo accorgono for 'notice it'?
The verb 'to notice' is accorgersi, which is a reflexive verb that requires the preposition di to introduce what is being noticed (accorgersi di qualcosa). The pronoun ne replaces 'di qualcosa' (of it). When the third-person reflexive pronoun si is placed before ne, its 'i' changes to an 'e', giving us se ne.
I learned that sobrio means 'sober' (not drunk). Is it common to use it for clothes?
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