Breakdown of Mando un saluto al mio amico in giardino.
io
I
in
in
il giardino
the garden
l'amico
the friend
il mio
my
mandare
to send
al
to
il saluto
the greeting
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Questions & Answers about Mando un saluto al mio amico in giardino.
What does mando mean and what is its infinitive?
Mando is the first-person singular present indicative of the verb mandare, which means “to send.” So mando = “I send.”
Is saluto in this sentence a noun or a verb?
Although saluto can be the first-person singular of salutare (“I greet”), here it’s a noun meaning “a greeting.” You can tell because it’s preceded by the article un.
Can I use inviare instead of mandare?
Yes. Inviare is a synonym for “to send,” so you could also say Invio un saluto al mio amico in giardino. Mandare is slightly more colloquial.
Why do we say al mio amico and not a il mio amico?
In Italian the preposition a and the definite article il contract into al, so a + il mio amico becomes al mio amico.
Why is there an article before mio amico? Could I say mio amico without il?
Possessive adjectives in Italian normally require the definite article: il mio amico, la mia casa, etc. Omitting il sounds non-standard in most cases (exceptions include singular family members without modifiers).
Why doesn’t giardino have an article after in? Why not nel giardino?
Both in giardino and nel giardino (“in the garden”) are grammatically correct. However, when referring to being in a garden in general (especially one’s own), Italians typically drop the article: in giardino.
Does in giardino describe mio amico or the action of sending?
Since in giardino immediately follows mio amico, it modifies amico, i.e. “my friend who is in the garden.” If you wanted to say that you are in the garden sending the greeting, you’d move in giardino elsewhere (e.g. In giardino mando un saluto al mio amico).
Could I rearrange the sentence? Is Mando un saluto al mio amico in giardino the only option?
Italian allows flexibility:
- Mando al mio amico in giardino un saluto
- Al mio amico in giardino mando un saluto
All are correct, but the original order is the most neutral. Shifting in giardino can subtly change what you emphasize.