Breakdown of Domani devo consegnare il documento in ufficio.
io
I
in
in
domani
tomorrow
dovere
to have to
l'ufficio
the office
il documento
the document
consegnare
to hand in
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Questions & Answers about Domani devo consegnare il documento in ufficio.
What tense and person is devo, and why is it used here for a future action?
Devo is the first-person singular present indicative of dovere (to have to/must). In Italian, the present tense combined with a time adverb like domani often expresses a scheduled or obligatory action in the near future, so you don’t need the future tense.
Why is there the article il before documento? When do I have to use it?
Italian normally requires a definite article before singular, countable nouns. Here il is the masculine singular article for documento. You use il (or lo for special consonant clusters, l’ before vowels) whenever you mention a specific object.
What does the preposition in mean in in ufficio, and could I use a different preposition?
In in ufficio, in means “at” or “inside.” It’s the fixed expression for “at the office.” You wouldn’t say a ufficio; the standard phrase is in ufficio. If you wanted to emphasize movement toward, you might hear all’ufficio, but colloquially Italians still say in ufficio for both “to” and “at.”
Can I omit the article and say Domani devo consegnare documento in ufficio?
No. In standard Italian you need the article before documento. Omitting il would sound ungrammatical. Always say consegnare il documento rather than consegnare documento.
How do I pronounce the double consonant in consegnare?
In consegnare, the gn is a single sound /ɲ/, like the Spanish ñ. So it’s pronounced /konˈseɲɲaːre/ (con-se-NYA-reh). Italian double consonants are held slightly longer than single ones.
Why is the verb placed before the object (il documento) but after domani?
Italian typically follows Subject-Verb-Object order. Domani is an adverb of time placed at the front for emphasis. The core structure is still SVO: (io) devo consegnare il documento in ufficio.
Could I rephrase using the future tense, like Domani dovrò consegnare il documento in ufficio?
Yes, dovrò consegnare is the future tense of dovere (“I will have to deliver”). It’s correct and adds a slight nuance of obligation in the future, but Italians often prefer the present tense devo + time adverb for near-future plans.