Breakdown of Dobbiamo rimandare la riunione a domani mattina.
Questions & Answers about Dobbiamo rimandare la riunione a domani mattina.
What does dobbiamo mean, and why is there no noi?
Dobbiamo is the we form of dovere, and it means we must or we have to.
Italian usually does not need the subject pronoun because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action:
- devo = I must
- devi = you must
- dobbiamo = we must
So noi is normally omitted unless you want emphasis or contrast:
- Noi dobbiamo rimandare la riunione = We have to postpone the meeting
Why is rimandare in the infinitive after dobbiamo?
Because dovere is a modal verb. In Italian, modal verbs such as:
are followed directly by an infinitive.
So:
- dobbiamo rimandare = we have to postpone
There is no extra word like to in English, and no preposition such as di or a between the two verbs.
Is dobbiamo present tense? If so, why does the sentence refer to the future?
Yes, dobbiamo is present tense.
But Italian often uses the present tense for:
- current obligations
- plans
- near-future actions
Here the idea is:
- right now, we have the obligation/need
- the new meeting time is tomorrow morning
So the future meaning comes from a domani mattina, not from a future-tense verb.
What does rimandare mean here exactly?
Here rimandare means to postpone, to put off, or to reschedule for later.
In other contexts, rimandare can also mean other things, such as:
- to send back
- to refer back
- sometimes even to fail a student in a school context
But in this sentence, because it is followed by la riunione a domani mattina, the meaning is clearly postpone.
Is rimandare the same as rinviare?
They are very close in meaning here.
Both can mean to postpone:
- Dobbiamo rimandare la riunione
- Dobbiamo rinviare la riunione
A useful rule:
- rimandare is very common and everyday
- rinviare can sound a bit more formal in some contexts
So for this sentence, both are possible, but rimandare is perfectly natural.
Why do we say la riunione and not just riunione?
Why is it a domani mattina?
Why not in domani mattina or per domani mattina?
In domani mattina is not correct Italian.
Per domani mattina can exist in Italian, but it usually gives a slightly different idea, more like for/by tomorrow morning depending on context.
After rimandare, the most natural construction is:
- rimandare ... a domani mattina
So this sentence uses the standard pattern.
Could I say just domani mattina without a?
In many sentences, yes:
- Ci vediamo domani mattina = We’ll see each other tomorrow morning
- Parto domani mattina = I’m leaving tomorrow morning
But with rimandare, a is very natural because it marks the new time the event is moved to:
- rimandare la riunione a domani mattina
So in this sentence, keeping a is the best choice.
Why is there no article before domani mattina?
Is the word order fixed?
The given order is the most neutral and natural:
- Dobbiamo rimandare la riunione a domani mattina.
Italian word order is somewhat flexible, but changes can add emphasis:
- La riunione dobbiamo rimandarla a domani mattina.
This emphasizes the meeting. - Dobbiamo rimandare a domani mattina la riunione.
This is possible, but less neutral.
For a learner, the original version is the safest and most natural.
Can I replace la riunione with a pronoun?
Yes.
You can say:
- Dobbiamo rimandarla a domani mattina.
Here la means it, referring to la riunione.
With modal verbs, Italian often allows two placements for the pronoun:
- La dobbiamo rimandare a domani mattina.
- Dobbiamo rimandarla a domani mattina.
Both are correct. The second one is often especially common in everyday speech.
Could I also say Bisogna rimandare la riunione a domani mattina?
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