Breakdown of Mi è piaciuto il nuovo intonaco, tranne quello sulle mura del castello.
nuovo
new
quello
that
il castello
the castle
di
of, from
su
on, about
mi
to me
piacere
to please / to like
il muro
the wall
tranne
except
l'intonaco
the plaster (building material) (m)
Questions & Answers about Mi è piaciuto il nuovo intonaco, tranne quello sulle mura del castello.
Why is the word for walls mura instead of muri here?
Muro is a noun with two different plurals. You use the regular masculine plural muri when talking about the walls of a room or standard dividing walls. You use the feminine plural mura for large exterior, defensive, or enclosing walls, like those of a castle or an ancient city. Notice that because mura is feminine plural, the preposition combines with le to make sulle.
Why is the word quello used instead of quel or quell'?
Why does the verb use è instead of ha for piaciuto?
A quick refresher: the verb piacere always takes the auxiliary verb essere in compound tenses. Because it takes essere, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject. The subject (the thing being liked) is il nuovo intonaco, so the participle is the masculine singular piaciuto.
Do we need a preposition after tranne, since we say except for in English?
No, tranne is followed directly by the noun or pronoun it introduces. Unlike English, you do not need to add a preposition like per; you just say tranne quello.
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