Breakdown of Guarda come la pioggia cade sul fiore.
su
on
il fiore
the flower
la pioggia
the rain
come
how
cadere
to fall
guardare
to watch
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Questions & Answers about Guarda come la pioggia cade sul fiore.
Why is Guarda used instead of Guardi?
In Italian, Guarda is the informal imperative (second-person singular) of the verb guardare, used to address someone you know well or someone younger. Guardi would be the formal imperative or the third-person singular indicative. So, in a casual context, Guarda fits naturally.
What does come convey in this sentence?
Come here means how or in what way. It introduces a subordinate clause describing the manner in which the action (the rain falling) happens. It’s similar to saying Look how the rain is falling on the flower in English.
Why do we say la pioggia instead of il pioggia?
In Italian, the word pioggia (rain) is feminine. All nouns ending in -a are typically (though not always) feminine. Hence, we use the feminine article la.
What does sul mean?
Sul is a contraction of su + il, literally on the. It indicates placement on the surface of something. So sul fiore translates to on the flower.
Why is the verb cade in the third-person singular?
The subject of cade (falls) is la pioggia (the rain), which is a singular noun. Therefore, it takes the third-person singular form of cadere. The structure is straightforward: la pioggia cade → "the rain falls."