Breakdown of Nell'Italia meridionale l'estate è molto lunga.
essere
to be
molto
very
in
in / made of (material)
l'Italia
Italy (f)
lungo
long
l'estate
the summer (f)
meridionale
southern
Questions & Answers about Nell'Italia meridionale l'estate è molto lunga.
Why is it nell'Italia instead of just in Italia?
Normally, you use the preposition in without an article for countries (like in Italia). However, when a country or continent is modified by an adjective (like meridionale) or a specifying phrase, Italian requires the definite article. Because we are talking about a specific part of Italy, in combines with l' to make nell'.
Can I use Sud instead of meridionale?
Yes! Meridionale is an adjective meaning "southern", while Sud is a noun meaning "South". You will frequently hear nel Sud Italia as an alternative to nell'Italia meridionale. Both phrases require the definite article because they specify a particular region of the country.
Why does estate have an article (l'estate) when the English translation is just "summer"?
Italian generally requires definite articles for seasons, abstract concepts, and broad categories when they are the subject of a sentence. While English drops the article to make a general statement like "summer is long", Italian keeps it as l'estate.
Since estate and lunga are feminine, why doesn't molto change to molta?
In this sentence, molto is an adverb meaning "very" and modifies the adjective lunga. Adverbs are invariable in Italian, meaning they never change their endings. Molto only changes to agree with gender and number when it acts as an adjective meaning "much" or "many" directly before a noun (like molta pioggia).
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