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Questions & Answers about Ho una sorpresa per te.
Why is the subject "I" not explicitly stated in the sentence "Ho una sorpresa per te"?
Italian verb conjugations include information about the subject. In this case, "ho" is the first-person singular form of the verb avere (to have), which makes it clear that the sentence means "I have a surprise for you." Therefore, the subject pronoun io (I) is typically omitted.
What role does the article una play in this sentence?
Una is an indefinite article used with feminine singular nouns. Since sorpresa (surprise) is a feminine noun, una corresponds to the English article "a." It indicates that the surprise being referred to is one among many or unspecified.
What does the phrase per te mean, and why is te used instead of tu?
The phrase per te translates directly to "for you." Here, per is a preposition meaning "for," and te is the appropriate object pronoun used after prepositions. In Italian, when a pronoun follows a preposition, the subject form tu changes to the object form te.
Is it possible to rearrange the sentence without changing its meaning?
Yes, Italian allows flexible word order for emphasis. For instance, you can say "Per te ho una sorpresa" to place extra emphasis on "for you," yet the overall meaning remains the same as in the original sentence.