Breakdown of Ricevo una nota dall’insegnante.
io
I
da
from
ricevere
to receive
l'insegnante
the teacher
la nota
the note
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Questions & Answers about Ricevo una nota dall’insegnante.
Why is it ricevo and what verb does it come from?
It’s the first person singular present form of ricevere, which means “to receive.”
Can’t I use prendere instead of ricevere?
No, because prendere means “to take” or “to grab.” If you say prendo una nota, it means “I take a note” (e.g., I make a note). To express “I receive a note,” you need ricevere.
What does nota mean in this context? Is it a grade?
Here nota means “note” as in a short written message. A “grade” on a test is usually voto, although in some informal contexts people might say nota.
Why do we say una nota and not la nota or just nota?
Una is the indefinite article (“a”). You use una nota to mean “a note.” La nota would mean “the note.” You need the article for a singular, countable noun in Italian.
Why is it dall’insegnante instead of da l’insegnante or da insegnante?
In Italian, da + l’ contracts to dall’. You need the article because you’re talking about a specific teacher (“from the teacher”). You can’t say da insegnante without the article when you mean “from the teacher.”
I’ve seen dalla before. Why is it dall’ here?
Dalla is da + la. When the next word starts with a vowel (insegnante), you drop the a and replace it with an apostrophe: dall’.
Why does insegnante end with -e? Does it change for female teachers?
Insegnante is the same form for masculine and feminine. The article or an adjective tells you the gender (e.g. il professore vs. la professoressa, or l’insegnante in either case). The noun itself stays insegnante.
Could I say Ricevo una nota dal professore instead?
Yes. Dal is da + il for masculine singular. So “I receive a note from the (male) teacher” is Ricevo una nota dal professore.