Breakdown of Questa immagine mostra il centro della città.
la città
the city
il centro
the center / downtown
mostrare
to show
l'immagine
the image, the picture (f)
Questions & Answers about Questa immagine mostra il centro della città.
Since this lesson is about omitting the article, why do we say il centro instead of just centro?
The rule you are currently learning applies specifically to appositions—descriptive phrases placed right next to a proper noun (like Roma, capitale d'Italia). In this sentence, il centro isn't an apposition defining a proper noun; it is simply the direct object of the verb mostra, so it requires its standard definite article.
Why use mostra here instead of dimostra?
Mostrare means "to show" or "to display" visually, which is exactly what a picture does. Dimostrare means "to demonstrate" or "to prove" an argument. Unless the picture is being used as logical evidence to prove a specific point, mostra is the natural choice.
Could I write quest'immagine with an apostrophe instead of questa immagine?
Yes, both questa immagine and quest'immagine are perfectly correct. Dropping the final -a and adding an apostrophe before a vowel is very common in everyday Italian, while keeping the full word (questa immagine) is slightly more formal but equally common.
Could we say il centro città instead of il centro della città?
Learn Questa immagine mostra il centro della città and more in Italian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free