Learn Hardcore Italian: Per mantenere la salute, bevo acqua fresca ogni mattina. - To maintain health, I drink fresh water every morning.

Because Per mantenere la salute is an introductory subordinate clause. In Italian, when a sentence begins with a long or clear “reason” phrase (a purpose clause introduced by per), it’s common to separate it from the main clause with a comma to improve clarity and flow.

Why do we use mantenere instead of preservare or conservare?

All three verbs can mean “to maintain” or “to preserve,” but:

mantenere is the most neutral and common when talking about “keeping” a state (e.g., health, balance).
preservare often implies protection from external harm.
conservare frequently refers to keeping something intact or stored (e.g., food, objects).
Here, mantenere la salute simply means “to keep one’s health in good condition.”

Why is there a definite article la before salute?

In Italian, abstract nouns (like salute, felicità, forza) generally take the definite article when they’re used in a general sense. So you say la salute (health) instead of just salute.

Can we drop the article and say Per mantenere salute?

No. Omitting la sounds ungrammatical because abstract nouns almost always require the article in this kind of expression.

Why is bevo in the first person singular present tense?

Because the speaker is referring to their own habitual action. In Italian, the subject pronoun io (“I”) can be omitted, so bevo alone clearly means “I drink.”

Why is there no article before acqua fresca?

Acqua is a mass (uncountable) noun here, used in a generic sense (“fresh water in general”). In Italian, mass nouns often appear without an article when you talk about them generically: • Bevo acqua = “I drink water”
If you wanted to emphasize “some water,” you could use the partitive: Bevo dell’acqua fresca.

What’s the difference between bevo acqua fresca and bevo dell’acqua fresca?

• Bevo acqua fresca: generic statement → “I drink fresh water.”
• Bevo dell’acqua fresca: partitive → “I drink some fresh water.” It implies a portion rather than water in general.

Why do we say ogni mattina instead of tutte le mattine?

Both mean “every morning.”
• ogni mattina is more concise and very common.
• tutte le mattine is slightly more emphatic but fully interchangeable in this context.

Why is ogni mattina placed at the end of the sentence?

Adverbial time expressions in Italian can go at the beginning or end:
• Ogni mattina bevo acqua fresca.
• Bevo acqua fresca ogni mattina.
Both are correct. Placing it at the end emphasizes the action (drinking fresh water) before specifying “when.”