A febbraio l’uomo preferisce restare in casa quando piove.

In February the man prefers to stay at home when it rains.

Breakdown of A febbraio l’uomo preferisce restare in casa quando piove.

• in: in
• la casa: the house
• quando: when
• preferire: to prefer

Questions & Answers about A febbraio l’uomo preferisce restare in casa quando piove.

Why does the sentence start with A febbraio? Why not In febbraio?

In Italian, months are commonly used with a when you mean in / during a certain month: a febbraio, a marzo, a gennaio, etc.

So:

• A febbraio = In February

This is very natural Italian. English uses in, but Italian often uses a here.

Why is it l’uomo and not just uomo?

Italian usually uses an article where English often does not.

• l’uomo = the man

Here uomo begins with a vowel, so il becomes l’:

• il ragazzo
• la donna
• l’uomo

If you said just uomo, it would usually sound incomplete in a sentence like this.

Why is there no separate word for he?

Italian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action.

• preferisce already means he/she prefers

So instead of saying:

• L’uomo lui preferisce...

Italian simply says:

• L’uomo preferisce...

The subject is already clear from l’uomo and from the verb form.