L’amico aspetta una mia risposta.

the answer

Breakdown of L’amico aspetta una mia risposta.

• mia: my
• aspettare: to wait for
• l’amico: the friend

Questions & Answers about L’amico aspetta una mia risposta.

What does L’amico mean and why is there an apostrophe?

L’ is the elided form of the definite article il before a vowel. So L’amico comes from il amico → l’amico, meaning “the friend.” The apostrophe shows that the i in il has been dropped because amico begins with a vowel.

Why does Italian use a definite article before amico, when in English we might just say “my friend” without “the”?

In Italian, most singular nouns—even with a possessive or adjective—require an article. So you say l’amico (the friend) rather than dropping the. English often omits the article when using a possessive (e.g. “my friend”), but Italian keeps the article (e.g. il mio amico).

What are the subject, verb, and object in L’amico aspetta una mia risposta?

• Subject: L’amico (“the friend”)
• Verb: aspetta (“is waiting for”)
• Direct object: una mia risposta (“an answer of mine”)

Italian’s aspetta takes a direct object (no preposition required).

Why do we have both an indefinite article una and the possessive mia before risposta?