Breakdown of Scrivo un verbale in ufficio dopo la riunione.
io
I
in
in
dopo
after
la riunione
the meeting
scrivere
to write
l'ufficio
the office
il verbale
the report
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Questions & Answers about Scrivo un verbale in ufficio dopo la riunione.
Why is scrivo in the present tense, even though writing happens after the meeting?
In Italian, the present simple can express a future plan when accompanied by a time adverbial like dopo la riunione. You could use a future tense (scriverò) but it’s common to use the present for scheduled or imminent events. It also works if the writing occurs immediately after the meeting—as part of the same sequence of actions.
Why is the subject pronoun io omitted before scrivo?
Italian is a pro-drop language: the verb ending -o in scrivo already indicates first person singular (I). Unless you want to add emphasis or contrast, you usually leave out subject pronouns.
What does un verbale mean here?
A verbale is an official written record or “minutes” of a meeting. The indefinite article un signals that it’s one (non-specific) report, not necessarily a particular one you’ve mentioned before.
Why is it in ufficio and not al ufficio or allo ufficio?
Here in indicates location (“at the office”). With place-of-work nouns—ufficio, scuola, casa (in some contexts)—Italian often drops the article: in ufficio, in chiesa, a casa. By contrast, al or allo would suggest movement toward the office (“I go to the office”), not being inside it.
Why is there no article before ufficio, but we have la before riunione after dopo?
Certain place nouns routinely drop the article after prepositions when expressing “being at” that place. Riunione is an event noun following the preposition dopo, so it needs its definite article: dopo la riunione. Prepositions like dopo require dopo + article + noun.
Can dopo la riunione go at the beginning of the sentence?
Yes. Italian word order is flexible. Starting with Dopo la riunione, scrivo un verbale in ufficio. simply emphasizes the time (after the meeting) before mentioning the action.
Could you use redigere instead of scrivere?
Absolutely. Redigere un verbale is a more formal or technical way to say “draft/write up the minutes.” Scrivere un verbale is perfectly natural in everyday speech.
Why is dopo followed directly by la riunione and not dopo di la riunione?
When dopo precedes a noun, you use dopo + article + noun. Dopo di is used before pronouns (dopo di me, dopo di loro), but never before noun phrases.