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Non dimenticarti della coda del gatto quando chiudi la porta!

Non dimenticarti della coda del gatto quando chiudi la porta!
Don’t forget about the cat’s tail when you close the door!
FromLesson 52inHardcore Italian

Questions & Answers about Non dimenticarti della coda del gatto quando chiudi la porta!

Why is dimenticarti used here? Isn't dimenticare enough for to forget?
In this sentence the speaker chooses the reflexive verb dimenticarsi di (to forget about something) rather than the transitive dimenticare. Reflexive verbs in Italian require a reflexive pronoun—in this case ti for tu—and that pronoun attaches to the infinitive dimenticare, giving dimenticarti.
Why is the pronoun ti attached to the infinitive instead of placed before the verb?
Italian object and reflexive pronouns become enclitics (attached) when used with infinitives, gerunds and affirmative imperatives. Even in a negative tu command, where you use non + infinitive, the pronoun stays enclitic: non dimenticarti.
Why is the negative command Non dimenticarti instead of using the standard imperative form like Dimentica?
For tu negative commands Italian uses non + infinitive, not the second-person singular imperative. So instead of Dimentica you say Non dimenticare. With the reflexive you get Non dimenticarti.
Could I also say Non ti dimenticare instead of Non dimenticarti?
Yes. Many speakers place the pronoun before the infinitive in a negative command. Both Non ti dimenticare and Non dimenticarti are widely used and understood.
Why does the sentence say della coda del gatto? What’s going on with della and del?
Both della and del are contractions of di + article. Dimenticarsi always takes the preposition di before the thing you forget. Coda is feminine singular, so di + la becomes della. Gatto is masculine singular, so di + il becomes del.
Why must there be a definite article before coda and gatto? Why not just di coda di gatto?
Italian normally requires a definite article before specific nouns (especially body parts, possessions, etc.). You can’t drop the article here, so dimenticarsi di coda would be ungrammatical—hence della coda del gatto.
Why does Italian use the present tense chiudi in quando chiudi la porta, even if the action hasn’t happened yet?
In time clauses introduced by quando, Italian uses the present indicative for future or habitual actions that are certain. English might say “when you will close” or “when you close,” but Italian stays with the present: quando chiudi.
In English we’d say don’t close the door on the cat’s tail. Why isn’t it sulla coda del gatto here?
This Italian sentence focuses on not forgetting the tail, rather than on the action of trapping it. To express don’t close the door on the cat’s tail you would say Non chiudere la porta sulla coda del gatto.
Could I use ricordati instead of non dimenticarti?
Yes. Ricordarsi di is the opposite of dimenticarsi di. You could say Ricordati della coda del gatto quando chiudi la porta to mean remember the cat’s tail when you close the door. Or, to say “remember not to close the door on the tail,” use Ricordati di non chiudere la porta sulla coda del gatto.
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