La nonna fa ridere i bambini.

Grandma makes the children laugh.

Breakdown of La nonna fa ridere i bambini.

• il bambino: the child
• fare ridere: to make laugh
• la nonna: the grandmother

Questions & Answers about La nonna fa ridere i bambini.

Why is the verb ridere in its infinitive form rather than being conjugated?

In Italian, when expressing causation using the verb fare (“to make/do”), the following verb remains in the infinitive form. Here, fa ridere indicates that the grandmother causes the children to laugh, so ridere is not conjugated.

What role does fa play in this sentence, and why is it in its singular form?

Fa is the third-person singular form of fare. It is used to agree with the singular subject la nonna (grandmother). In this causative construction, fa means “makes” and shows that the grandmother is causing the action (laughing) to happen to the children.

How is the sentence “La nonna fa ridere i bambini” structured grammatically?

The sentence follows a Subject–Verb–Object (SVO) order. La nonna is the subject, fa ridere is the verb phrase formed by the causative fare plus the infinitive ridere, and i bambini is the object. Although i bambini is the object of fa, they are the ones performing the action of laughing as a result of the causative construction.

What function do the definite articles la and i serve in this sentence?

The articles specify the nouns that follow. La signals a feminine singular noun (nonna), while i indicates a masculine plural noun (bambini). They help clarify that the sentence is referring to a specific grandmother and a specific group of children.