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Ieri siamo andati al cinema e siamo tornati tardi a casa.

Ieri siamo andati al cinema e siamo tornati tardi a casa.
Yesterday we went to the cinema and came back home late.
FromLesson 9inHardcore Italian

Breakdown of Ieri siamo andati al cinema e siamo tornati tardi a casa.

la casa
the house
andare
to go
e
and
tornare
to return
noi
we
ieri
yesterday
tardi
late
a
to
il cinema
the cinema

Questions & Answers about Ieri siamo andati al cinema e siamo tornati tardi a casa.

What does ieri mean in this sentence?
Ieri means "yesterday." It tells us when the actions took place.
Why is the auxiliary verb siamo used with both andati and tornati?
In Italian, many verbs of movement—such as andare (to go) and tornare (to return)—use the auxiliary essere in the passato prossimo. Siamo is the first-person plural form of essere, indicating that the implicit subject is we.
Why do the past participles andati and tornati end with -i?
When using essere as the auxiliary, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject. Since the subject (implied noi for we) is masculine or mixed gender and plural, the participles take the masculine plural form, ending in -i.
What is the function of al in al cinema?
Al is a contraction of a + il. In Italian, when indicating a destination like the cinema (il cinema), you combine the preposition a with the article il to form al, meaning "to the cinema."
Why is the subject not explicitly mentioned in the sentence?
Italian often omits subject pronouns because the verb conjugation clearly indicates the subject. In this sentence, siamo already shows that the subject is we (noi), making it unnecessary to repeat the pronoun.
What does tardi a casa express in this context?
Tardi a casa translates to "home late" or "back home late." Here, tardi is an adverb meaning "late," and a casa indicates the destination "home." Together, they tell us that the return happened at a late hour.
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