Mega Dini
how to use "to" in italian? I'm beginner and I don't know how to write to+ infinitive. Is it right to use "per" as "to"? like per mangiare, per dimenticare, etc.. ? and what about "da", like "non ho niente da dire" ?
Oct 1, 2014 6:23 AM
Answers · 9
4
1. Vado a casa (to: motion) 2. Respiro per vivere (per: in order to) 3a. Resto a casa (at home: to stay) 3b. Resto in casa (same as (3a)) 4. vado al (a + il) ristorante a mangiare 5a. vado in (to) biblioteca a (in order to) cercare un libro 5b. vado in biblioteca per (in order to) cercare un libro (same as (5a))
October 1, 2014
3
da: 1. vivo a Roma ma vengo da Lecce (from) 2. da chi hai saputo questa cosa ? (from whom ...) 3. hai qualcosa da fare ? (to do) 4. nel laboratorio c'e` sempre qualcosa da fare, a volte da inventare. 5. hai altro da mettere nello zaino ? 6. devo comprare qualcosa da mangiare 7. vuoi qualcosa da bere ? 8. il suo discorso e` da ridere. 9. questo film e` da piangere. It seems to me that the form: da + <infinitive> is usually in contexts where there is one of the meanings: - urgency - need - obligation - desire Moreover /da/ + <infinitive> also specifies the kind of things, similar to the form /di/ + <noun> (di legno, di ferro) /da/ + <verbo nella forma 'infinito'> is similar in meaning to: /qualcosa/ che puo` essere <verbo al participio passato> or /qualcosa/ su cui si puo` <verbo nella forma 'infinito'>
October 1, 2014
3
I will explain you how to use PER and DA + infinitive which both in English will be expressed with TO + infinitive: Example "PER": I sleep to forget my problem = dormo per dimenticare il mio problema you have a main action "I sleep" and a sentence explaining the purpose of this action: "to forget something" so you will use PER + infinitive when you want to explain your purpose, your intention... Example "DA": I have nothing to say = non ho niente da dire here your main action is "to have something", "to have" is a transitive verb and it needs an OBJECT of the sentence. your object is expressed by the sentence "nothing to say / niente da dire" so you will use DA + infinitive when you are explaining the object of your main action. PER and DA are particles used in Italian to express many other things like provenience or passage trough.... but does not match with the formula PER / DA + infinitive.
October 1, 2014
2
Generally "to + infinitive" is "per + infinito" > studio italiano per parlare con i miei amici (in order to). When we use more complex structure, the preposition depends on the first verb, and it could be "di" or "a": - vado a mangiare (andare a + infinitive) - comincio a studiare (cominciare a + infinitive) - penso di uscire (pensare di + infinitive) "da + infinitive" means something I can or need to do: - non ho niente da mangiare = nothing I can eat - ho molte cose da fare = many things I need to do - non ho niente da dire = nothing I can say - ho molti esami da fare= many exams I need to do
October 1, 2014
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