La prossima volta voglio vedere il fiume.

Next time I want to see the river.

Breakdown of La prossima volta voglio vedere il fiume.

• io: I
• volere: to want
• vedere: to see
• il fiume: the river
• la volta: the time
• prossimo: next

Questions & Answers about La prossima volta voglio vedere il fiume.

Why does the sentence say La prossima volta instead of something like La volta prossima?

Prossima (meaning next) often comes before volta (meaning time) in Italian to form the set phrase la prossima volta. While la volta prossima can sometimes be understood, it feels less natural in everyday speech; the standard way to say next time is la prossima volta.

Why do we use voglio vedere and not vorrei vedere?

Voglio vedere means I want to see, expressing a direct desire or intention. Vorrei vedere means I would like to see, which is more polite or tentative. In this sentence, voglio is a straightforward statement of wanting to do something next time.

Why do we use the definite article il before fiume?

In Italian, common nouns normally require an article. Il fiume (the river) uses il because fiume is a masculine noun starting with a consonant. The article il indicates that we’re talking about a specific river, not just any river.

Is fiume masculine or feminine, and how can I tell?

Fiume is masculine. Although many masculine nouns end in -o and feminine nouns in -a, there are exceptions that end in -e. You often need to learn gender on a case-by-case basis. Over time, you’ll internalize which nouns are masculine and which are feminine.

Does the verb voglio need any extra word like di or a before vedere?

No. Verbs like volere (to want), potere (to be able), and dovere (to have to) are followed directly by the infinitive in Italian. So you say voglio vedere (I want to see) without using di or a.