B. How do you say the following in Italian?
1. I have only an aunt and uncle.
2. I bought (ho comprato) a car.
3. What a nice house!
4. What a great movie!
Uses of the definite article The definite article is normally used in front of a mass noun, especially if it is the subject of a sentence. L’acqua è un liquido. Lui beve solo il caffè. La pazienza è una virtù.
Water is a liquid. He drinks only coffee. Patience is a virtue.
It is also used with nouns in the plural that express generalizations. Gli americani sono simpatici. Oggi tutti hanno i cellulari.
Americans are nice. Today everybody has cell phones.
The definite article is used in front of geographical names (continents, countries, states, rivers, islands, mountains, etc.), except the names of cities. le Alpi il Belgio la California l’Italia il Mediterraneo il Piemonte la Sicilia gli Stati Uniti il Tevere
the Alps Belgium California Italy the Mediterranean Piedmont Sicily the United States the Tiber
Firenze Napoli Roma Venezia
Florence Naples Rome Venice
But:
It is usually dropped after the preposition in plus an unmodified geographical noun. Vado in Italia. Vivo in Francia.
I’m going to Italy. I live in France.
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