Guardo lo schermo.

Questions & Answers about Guardo lo schermo.

How do I know guardo means "I look" if there is no word for "I"?
In Italian, you usually do not need the subject pronoun (like io for "I") because the verb ending tells you who is doing the action. Guardo comes from the regular verb guardare (to look). Dropping the -are and adding -o tells us it is "I" doing the looking.
The English translation says "I look at", but where is the word for "at" in the Italian sentence?
The Italian verb guardare means "to look at" or "to watch" all by itself. You do not need to add an extra preposition for "at" after it. You just directly connect the verb to the object, saying essentially "I look the screen".
Why is the article lo used here instead of il for "the"?
Both lo and il mean "the" for masculine singular words. However, you must use lo when the following noun starts with an "s" followed by another consonant. Since schermo starts with "s" and "c", it requires lo.
Does the "sch" in schermo sound like the "sh" in the English word "shoe"?
No, in Italian, "ch" always makes a hard "k" sound. Therefore, the "sch" in schermo sounds like "sk", making the word sound like "SKER-mo".

Learn Guardo lo schermo and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • Practice with interactive exercises
  • Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • Learn at your own pace — completely free