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✂️ Compendium
Grammar
IT
Italiano — Elision
When certain words end in a vowel and the next word begins with a vowel, the final vowel drops and is replaced by an apostrophe: lo amico becomes l'amico, una ora becomes un'ora.
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How it works
✓ Rule
Before a word starting with a vowel, the final -o or -a of short words drops: lo/la become l', una becomes un', di becomes d', and questo/questa become quest'. So l'amico, l'amica, un'ora, d'Italia, quest'anno.
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Examples
| Full form | Elided form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| lo amico | l'amico | the friend (m.) |
| la amica | l'amica | the friend (f.) |
| una ora | un'ora | an hour |
| di Italia | d'Italia | of Italy |
| questo anno | quest'anno | this year |
| questa isola | quest'isola | this island |
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Good to know
⚠ Note
Elision is not the same as truncation: the apostrophe replaces a dropped vowel and there is no space after it — write l'amico, not l' amico. Note that the plural article gli only elides before words starting with i- (gl'Italiani), and le never elides, so it stays le amiche, not l'amiche.