Cerco di sopportare il rumore di notte, ma a volte è davvero complicato dormire.

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Breakdown of Cerco di sopportare il rumore di notte, ma a volte è davvero complicato dormire.

• dormire: to sleep
• essere: to be
• di: of

Questions & Answers about Cerco di sopportare il rumore di notte, ma a volte è davvero complicato dormire.

What is the literal translation of the sentence "Cerco di sopportare il rumore di notte, ma a volte è davvero complicato dormire"?

The sentence translates as "I try to tolerate the noise at night, but sometimes it's really difficult to sleep." In this translation, "cerco" means "I try," "di sopportare" means "to tolerate/endure," "il rumore" stands for "the noise," "di notte" means "at night," "a volte" translates as "sometimes," "davvero" means "really," and "complicato" means "complicated/difficult."

Why is the verb "sopportare" in its infinitive form after "cerco di"?

In Italian, verbs that express actions like trying, wanting, or planning (for example, "cerco") are often followed by the preposition "di" plus the infinitive form of another verb. Here, "sopportare" is in the infinitive because it completes the expression "cerco di sopportare" (I try to tolerate). This is similar to English, where we say “I try to…” followed by the base form of another verb.

What role does the contrast word "ma" play in this sentence?

"Ma" means "but" and is used to introduce a contrast between two ideas. The first part of the sentence states the effort made to tolerate the noise, while the second part, introduced by "ma", emphasizes that despite this effort, sleeping is still very difficult at times.

Why is the clause "a volte è davvero complicato dormire" constructed with an infinitive (dormire) instead of a conjugated verb?