Breakdown of Vado al negozio per comprare la giacca.
io
I
andare
to go
comprare
to buy
la giacca
the jacket
per
to
al
to
il negozio
the shop
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Italian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Vado al negozio per comprare la giacca.
What does vado mean in this sentence?
Vado is the first-person singular form of the verb andare, which means I go or I'm going.
Why is the subject pronoun io not explicitly present?
In Italian, subject pronouns are often dropped because the verb ending clearly indicates the subject. Here, the -o ending in vado makes it obvious that the sentence is referring to I.
What is the role of al negozio in the sentence and why is al used?
Al negozio means to the store. The word al is a contraction of the preposition a (to) and the definite article il (the). This contraction is common in Italian usage when indicating location or direction.
What function does the phrase per comprare la giacca serve?
The phrase per comprare la giacca explains the purpose of going to the store. Per translates as in order to or simply to in English, and it introduces the infinitive comprare, meaning to buy; thus, the sentence tells us that the purpose is to buy the jacket.
Why is the verb comprare kept in its infinitive form after per?
In Italian, when stating a purpose with per, the verb remains in the infinitive form. This construction is similar to the English use of to before a verb, so comprare correctly means to buy.
Why does la giacca include the definite article la?
The noun giacca (jacket) is feminine in Italian, so it takes the corresponding feminine definite article la, meaning the.