Breakdown of Milano, tempio della moda, è sempre molto elegante.
essere
to be
molto
very
di
of, from
Milano
Milan
sempre
always
elegante
elegant
la moda
the fashion
il tempio
the temple
Questions & Answers about Milano, tempio della moda, è sempre molto elegante.
Why doesn't it say il tempio della moda since the English translation says the temple of fashion?
When a noun phrase is placed right after a proper noun (like a city) to define or describe it, Italian drops the definite article. This grammar structure is called an apposition. Because of this rule, Milano, tempio della moda is correct, and adding il would sound unnatural.
Why do we use della moda here instead of just di moda?
Elegante refers to Milan. Does the masculine noun tempio affect the agreement of this adjective?
No, elegante describes the subject, Milan. Even though elegante ends in -e and works for both genders, most Italian cities are treated as feminine. If you used a different adjective, it would need to be feminine (like Milano è bellissima), completely ignoring the masculine apposition tempio in the middle of the sentence.
Is the word order strictly sempre molto elegante, or could sempre go at the end of the sentence?
Adverbs of frequency like sempre generally sit directly after the verb they modify. While Italian word order can be flexible, moving sempre to the very end of this sentence would sound clunky and unnatural to a native speaker.
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