Breakdown of Mi piace leggere la rivista settimanale al mattino.
io
I
leggere
to read
piacere
to like
il mattino
the morning
la rivista
the magazine
a
in
settimanale
weekly
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Questions & Answers about Mi piace leggere la rivista settimanale al mattino.
Why is it mi piace and not something like io piaccio?
Because in Italian piacere works “in reverse.” Instead of saying “I like X,” you literally say “X pleases me.”
- Mi is the indirect object pronoun meaning “to me.”
- Piace is the third-person singular form of piacere, agreeing with the thing you like (in this case, leggere).
Why is leggere in the infinitive and not conjugated?
After verbs of liking (“piacere,” “adorare,” “detestare,” etc.) you use the infinitive to talk about actions you like in general. So you say mi piace leggere (I like reading), mi piace nuotare (I like swimming), and so on.
What’s the role of la in la rivista settimanale?
La is the feminine singular definite article because rivista (magazine) is feminine.
- Feminine singular nouns take la.
- Settimanale is an adjective and agrees in gender and number (feminine singular) with rivista.
Could I use una rivista settimanale instead of la rivista settimanale?
Yes, but the nuance changes:
- Una rivista settimanale = “a weekly magazine” (any one).
- La rivista settimanale = “the weekly magazine” (a specific one, or the concept of a weekly magazine in general).
Why al mattino and not di mattina or nella mattina?
All three can convey “in the morning,” but:
- Al mattino is very common to indicate a habitual action at that time of day (“in the mornings”).
- Di mattina also works (“in the morning”), perhaps a bit more general.
- Nella mattina is grammatically possible but less idiomatic; Italians prefer al mattino or di mattina for routines.
Can I say ogni mattina instead of al mattino?
Absolutely. Ogni mattina means “every morning,” so you could say:
Mi piace leggere la rivista settimanale ogni mattina.
Why isn’t there an article before leggere?
You never use an article before an infinitive verb in Italian. Infinitives stand alone, so you simply say leggere, mangiare, scrivere, etc.