Mando un saluto al mio amico in giardino.

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Breakdown of Mando un saluto al mio amico in giardino.

• in: in
• il giardino: the garden
• l'amico: the friend

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?