Le ferie inizieranno la prossima settimana, e sono molto contento.

My vacation starts next week, and I am very happy.

Breakdown of Le ferie inizieranno la prossima settimana, e sono molto contento.

• io: I
• essere: to be
• molto: very
• e: and
• prossimo: next
• la settimana: the week
• iniziare: to start
• le ferie: the vacation
• contento: happy

Questions & Answers about Le ferie inizieranno la prossima settimana, e sono molto contento.

What does the verb inizieranno mean, and what tense is it?

Inizieranno is the third person plural form of iniziare in the future tense. It means “will begin” or “will start,” indicating that an action (in this case, the vacations) is going to occur in the future.

Why is the word ferie in the plural form when referring to a vacation?

In Italian, ferie is always used in the plural form even though in English “vacation” is singular. It refers collectively to a period of holidays or time off work. This is an idiomatic usage in Italian, so even when you’re talking about one vacation period, you still use the plural form.

The sentence includes two clauses with different subjects. How are the subjects handled in each clause?

In the first clause, Le ferie inizieranno la prossima settimana, the subject is clearly le ferie (the vacation), and the verb agrees with this third person plural subject. In the second clause, e sono molto contento, the subject is omitted but implied; it refers to the speaker (first person singular “io”) who is expressing that they are very happy. Italian commonly drops the subject when it’s clear from the verb ending.

Why is the adjective contento in its masculine form in the sentence?

The adjective contento is in the masculine form because it agrees with the implied subject, which is the speaker (io), and in this sentence the speaker is male or is choosing the masculine form. If a female speaker were expressing the same idea, she would say contenta.

Is it acceptable to use a comma before e in this sentence, and why?

Yes, the comma before e is acceptable because the sentence is composed of two independent clauses. Although Italian punctuation rules sometimes allow for the omission of a comma before e, including it here helps clearly separate the two ideas: one about the vacation starting, and the other about the speaker’s feelings.