Breakdown of Per ridurre l'ingombro, abbiamo accatastato i mobili vecchi.
vecchio
old
avere
to have
per
for / in order to / because of
il mobile
the piece of furniture
ridurre
to reduce
accatastare
to stack
l'ingombro
the clutter / the bulk (m)
Questions & Answers about Per ridurre l'ingombro, abbiamo accatastato i mobili vecchi.
English often uses 'stack up' or 'pile up'. Why isn't there a locative adverb like su after accatastato here?
While English relies heavily on phrasal verbs, Italian often prefers a single, precise verb. Accatastare comes from the noun catasta (pile/stack) and inherently means to gather things together into a stack. Adding su here would be redundant. You only use locative adverbs like su or via with true Italian phrasal verbs (like portare via) where the adverb is required to change the verb's core meaning.
What is l'ingombro and how do you use it?
Does changing the word order to i vecchi mobili change the meaning?
Yes. Placing the adjective after the noun (i mobili vecchi) is factual: the furniture is physically aged or worn out. Placing it before the noun (i vecchi mobili) is more subjective, usually implying these are the former pieces of furniture you used to own, perhaps just before replacing them with new ones.
Just to review, why is the verb ridurre left in the infinitive here?
To express purpose ('in order to'), Italian uses per plus the infinitive verb. This works seamlessly here because the implied subject of ridurre is the exact same as the subject of abbiamo accatastato (we). If the subjects were different, you would need a more complex construction using affinché.
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