Ho paura di strappare la borsa se la riempio troppo.

I’m afraid of tearing the bag if I fill it too much.

Breakdown of Ho paura di strappare la borsa se la riempio troppo.

• io: I
• la borsa: the bag
• se: if
• la: it (feminine)

Questions & Answers about Ho paura di strappare la borsa se la riempio troppo.

Why is it ho paura and not sono paura?

In Italian, paura is a noun, not an adjective in this expression. So Italian says avere paura = to have fear / to be afraid.

• Ho paura = I’m afraid
• not sono paura

This is one of those expressions you just learn as a set phrase.

Why is there a di before strappare?

After avere paura, Italian often uses di + infinitive when you are afraid of doing something or of something happening through your action.

So:

• Ho paura di strappare la borsa = I’m afraid of tearing the bag

This is very natural Italian. The pattern is:

• avere paura di + infinitive

For example:

• Ho paura di sbagliare = I’m afraid of making a mistake
• Ha paura di cadere = He/She is afraid of falling

What exactly does strappare mean here?

Strappare means to tear, to rip, or to pull apart by force.

In this sentence, it means the bag might get torn because it is being overfilled.

So strappare la borsa means:

• to tear the bag
• to rip the bag

A native English speaker might expect something like the bag might tear, but Italian can express the idea from the speaker’s point of view: I might tear the bag if I fill it too much.