Quando la stanza è buia, accendo una piccola luce per leggere.

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Breakdown of Quando la stanza è buia, accendo una piccola luce per leggere.

• essere: to be
• la luce: the light
• leggere: to read
• per: for
• quando: when
• piccolo: small
• la stanza: the room
• accendere: to turn on
• buio: dark

Questions & Answers about Quando la stanza è buia, accendo una piccola luce per leggere.

What is the overall structure of this sentence?

The sentence is composed of a subordinate clause followed by a main clause. The subordinate clause, "Quando la stanza è buia," sets up the condition ("When the room is dark"), while the main clause, "accendo una piccola luce per leggere," tells us what action occurs under that condition ("I turn on a small light to read").

Why is the subject pronoun “I” not explicitly mentioned in the sentence?

Italian is a pro-drop language, which means that subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb conjugation already indicates the subject. In this case, accendo is the first person singular present of accendere, so it is understood that the subject is "io" (I).

What is the role of the word quando in this sentence?

Quando translates to "when" in English and is used to introduce the subordinate clause. It sets up the timing or condition under which the action in the main clause takes place.

How is the verb accendere used and conjugated in this sentence?

Accendere means "to turn on" or "to light up." In this sentence, it is conjugated as accendo, which is the first person singular present tense form. This tells you that the speaker is performing the action.

What does the phrase per leggere indicate in the sentence?

Per leggere translates to "to read" and functions as a purpose clause. It explains why the speaker turns on the light: the light is turned on in order to read.

Why is there a comma after buia in the sentence?

The comma comes after the subordinate clause "Quando la stanza è buia" because, in Italian punctuation, a comma is used to separate the introductory subordinate clause from the main clause that follows.