Breakdown of Dopo la lezione, facciamo merenda in giardino prima di tornare a casa.
in
in
il giardino
the garden
dopo
after
noi
we
Questions & Answers about Dopo la lezione, facciamo merenda in giardino prima di tornare a casa.
Why is facciamo used here, and what tense is it?
Facciamo is the 1st person plural form of fare in the present indicative.
- fare = to do / to make
- facciamo = we do / we make
In Italian, the present tense is often used not only for general habits but also for things that are part of a routine or a planned action. So here it can mean:
- we have a snack
- we eat a snack
Even though fare literally means to do/make, in the expression fare merenda it means to have a snack.
Why doesn’t the sentence say noi facciamo?
Italian usually drops subject pronouns when they are not needed.
The ending -iamo in facciamo already tells you the subject is we. So noi is unnecessary unless you want emphasis or contrast.
For example:
- Facciamo merenda = We have a snack
- Noi facciamo merenda, loro no = We have a snack, they don’t
So in your sentence, leaving out noi is completely normal.
What exactly does fare merenda mean?