Question 1

How could I apply the suffixes from this lesson to describe the fly as a 'nasty, annoying fly'?

Accepted Answer

You can drop the final vowel of mosca and add the pejorative suffix -accia to make moscaccia. This perfectly captures the feeling of a pesky, unwanted fly!

Question 2

Can I use a diminutive suffix on cucina to say 'a small kitchen'?

Accepted Answer

Yes! You can use cucinino or cucinotto to mean a kitchenette or a very small kitchen. Notice how the gender changes to masculine for both of these altered forms, which is a common quirk when adding suffixes to certain feminine nouns.

Question 3

Is there a difference between using soltanto and solo in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

In this context, they are completely interchangeable. Both mean 'only' or 'just'. Soltanto is strictly an adverb, while solo can be an adjective or an adverb, but here they would function exactly the same way.

Question 4

Why is it in cucina and not nella cucina?

Accepted Answer

For rooms of the house, Italian typically uses the simple preposition in without the definite article (for example: in bagno, in camera, in salotto). You generally only use nella cucina if you are describing it or being specific, like nella cucina nuova (in the new kitchen).

Question 5

Why does this sentence use the imperfect c'era instead of the passato prossimo c'è stata?

Accepted Answer

The imperfect is used here to set a scene or describe a state of being in the past. You are simply describing what was in the room at that moment, rather than a specific completed event.

In cucina c'era soltanto una mosca.

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