Learn Hardcore Italian: Dovremmo evitare l’autostrada se vogliamo arrivare presto in città. - We should avoid the highway if we want to arrive in the city quickly.

Dovremmo is the conditional form of dovere (“we should”), which expresses a suggestion or recommendation. By contrast, Dobbiamo is the present indicative (“we must” or “we have to”) and sounds like a stronger obligation.

Why is evitare in the infinitive rather than conjugated?

After modal verbs like dovere, Italian uses the infinitive of the main verb without di. So you say dovremmo evitare (“we should avoid”), not dovremmo evitiamo.

Why does l’autostrada have an apostrophe?

The feminine article la drops its “a” before a word starting with a vowel. La autostrada becomes l’autostrada, with an apostrophe marking the elision.

What’s the difference between autostrada and strada?

Autostrada = a limited-access highway or motorway (usually tolled, no intersections).
Strada = any regular road or street (may have traffic lights, intersections, lower speed limits).

Why is the clause se vogliamo arrivare in the present indicative and not the subjunctive?

In Italian, the conjunction se (“if”) is followed by the indicative mood, not the subjunctive. Therefore you use vogliamo and the infinitive arrivare in the present indicative.

Why is presto placed after arrivare instead of before?

Adverbs like presto (“early/soon”) typically follow the infinitive in Italian: arrivare presto. Putting the adverb before the infinitive (presto arrivare) would sound odd or overly poetic.

Why do we say in città without an article?

With most place names and general nouns denoting locations, Italian uses the preposition directly. So in città means “to/in the city.” You would not insert an article here.

What does the accent on città indicate?

The grave accent on città marks that the stress falls on the final syllable and also differentiates it from other possible forms.