Learn Italian: Il prato era impraticabile nonostante i teloni. - The lawn was impassable despite the tarpaulins.

Il prato era impraticabile nonostante i teloni.

The lawn was impassable despite the tarpaulins.

Breakdown of Il prato era impraticabile nonostante i teloni.

despite / although (in spite of)

impraticabile

impassable

Questions & Answers about Il prato era impraticabile nonostante i teloni.

Why doesn't nonostante need an extra preposition before i teloni?

In Italian, the concessive prepositions nonostante and malgrado connect directly to the following noun. You do not need to add an extra preposition like di or a before i teloni. It translates directly to "despite the tarpaulins" in English, avoiding the extra word you would need if you said "in spite of".

Could I use malgrado instead of nonostante in this sentence?

Yes, saying malgrado i teloni would mean exactly the same thing. Both nonostante and malgrado mean "despite" or "in spite of" and are completely interchangeable when placed directly in front of a noun.

prato usually translates to "lawn" or "meadow". What specific situation is this sentence describing?

While prato does mean "lawn", this specific combination of vocabulary typically describes a sports pitch (like a soccer field) after heavy rain. The adjective impraticabile means "unplayable" or "impassable" in sports jargon, referring to a field that is too waterlogged for a match to take place.

Is the word teloni related to the word for canvas or cloth?