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Questions & Answers about Firma il contratto stasera.
What grammatical mood and person is firma?
Firma is the second-person singular imperative (an informal “you” command) of the verb firmare. For verbs in –are, the informal tu imperative form is identical to the third-person singular present indicative.
Why isn’t the subject pronoun tu included?
Italian conjugations encode the subject, so you normally drop subject pronouns. In the imperative mood the verb ending alone tells you it’s an informal command to tu.
Why is the definite article il used before contratto?
Because the sentence refers to a specific contract. Italian requires a definite article (il, la, i, le) when talking about a particular noun. If you meant “sign a contract,” you’d say firma un contratto.
Can you omit il and say firma contratto stasera like in English “sign contract tonight”?
No. Unlike English, Italian generally needs the appropriate article before a noun. Dropping il here would sound ungrammatical.
Why is stasera placed at the end of the sentence?
Italian has a flexible word order. Placing the time adverb stasera at the end is very common. You could also say stasera firma il contratto or firma stasera il contratto without changing the meaning.
What’s the difference between stasera and questa sera?
Both mean “this evening.” Stasera is the more colloquial, single-word form. Questa sera can sound slightly more formal or emphatic, but in everyday speech they’re interchangeable.
How can you make Firma il contratto stasera more polite?
You have several options:
- Add per favore at the end: Firma il contratto stasera, per favore.
- Use the polite imperative (Lei form): Firmi il contratto stasera, per favore.
- Or phrase it as a question with the conditional: Potresti firmare il contratto stasera?