Condivido il segreto con il mio amico.

I share the secret with my friend.

Breakdown of Condivido il segreto con il mio amico.

• io: I
• con: with
• l'amico: the friend
• il mio: my
• condividere: to share
• il segreto: the secret

Questions & Answers about Condivido il segreto con il mio amico.

What does condivido mean and how is it conjugated?

Condivido is the first-person singular present tense form of the verb condividere, which means "to share." In this sentence, it translates as "I share." The subject pronoun I is omitted because the verb ending already indicates the subject.

Why is the definite article il used before segreto instead of an indefinite article?

In Italian, the definite article il is used to indicate a specific or already known item. In this sentence, il segreto means "the secret" rather than "a secret." The definite article signals that both the speaker and listener are aware of which secret is being discussed.

How does the phrase con il mio amico function in this sentence?

The phrase con il mio amico is a prepositional phrase meaning "with my friend." Here, con means "with," il is the definite article, and mio is the possessive adjective that agrees in gender and number with amico (friend). Together, they indicate with whom the secret is shared.

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

In Italian, the verb conjugation usually makes the subject clear. Since condivido is conjugated for the first-person singular, it naturally implies "I," making the explicit subject pronoun unnecessary.

How does the word order in this Italian sentence compare with its English translation?

The Italian sentence Condivido il segreto con il mio amico has a structure very similar to its English counterpart "I share the secret with my friend." Although Italian typically omits the subject pronoun (because it is indicated by the verb ending), the ordering of the object and prepositional phrase is quite direct and similar to English.

What does the use of the possessive adjective mio tell us about adjectives in Italian?

The use of mio in il mio amico shows that possessive adjectives in Italian must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. In this case, mio (my) is used with the masculine singular noun amico (friend). Additionally, note that Italian often requires the definite article (il) even when a possessive adjective is used.

How would the sentence change if you wanted to express "I share a secret with a friend" instead of a specific secret and friend?

To express "I share a secret with a friend," you would replace the definite articles with indefinite ones. The sentence would become: "Condivido un segreto con un amico." This change indicates that both the secret and the friend are non-specific or introduced for the first time.