Word
Quasi ogni sera, mi piace mangiare un’insalata di pomodoro e lattuga come merenda leggera.
Meaning
Almost every evening, I like to eat a tomato and lettuce salad as a light snack.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Quasi ogni sera, mi piace mangiare un’insalata di pomodoro e lattuga come merenda leggera.
io
I
di
of
ogni
every
la sera
the evening
Questions & Answers about Quasi ogni sera, mi piace mangiare un’insalata di pomodoro e lattuga come merenda leggera.
What does quasi ogni sera mean, and why is quasi used in this context?
Quasi ogni sera translates to almost every evening. The word quasi means almost, suggesting that the action happens on nearly every evening, but there might be occasional exceptions.
How does the verb piacere work in the sentence, and why is it translated as "I like" even though the structure is different from English?
In Italian, piacere is used in a reverse construction compared to English. Instead of saying “I like the salad,” Italian literally says “the salad pleases me.” The indirect object pronoun mi means to me, and it’s the person who experiences the pleasure. Thus, mi piace mangiare… means “eating… pleases me,” which we naturally translate as “I like to eat…”
What is the function of the infinitive mangiare in this sentence?
The infinitive mangiare (to eat) functions as a noun that represents the activity which gives pleasure to the speaker. In Italian, it’s common to use an infinitive after piacere to indicate the action that is enjoyable.
Why is there an apostrophe in un’insalata, and what does it signify?