Breakdown of Il mio amico compra una macchina nuova.
una
a / an (feminine)
nuovo
new
la macchina
the car
l'amico
the friend (m)
mio
my
comprare
to buy
Questions & Answers about Il mio amico compra una macchina nuova.
Why does the sentence use compra instead of comprare?
Comprare is the dictionary form of the verb, meaning to buy. Because the subject of our sentence is il mio amico (a third person, like he or she), we drop the -are ending and add -a to make compra, which means he buys or she buys.
The English translation says is buying. Why isn't there a word for is in the Italian sentence?
In Italian, the simple present tense covers both actions happening right now and regular habits. Compra can mean he buys or he is buying. You do not need to add a separate word for is.
Why is there an il before mio amico?
In Italian, you almost always need to use a definite article like il before a possessive word like mio. So to say my friend, you literally say the my friend.
Why are the words in the order macchina nuova instead of nuova macchina?
Why does nuova end in an -a?
Adjectives have to match the gender of the noun they describe. Because macchina is a feminine noun, the basic adjective nuovo changes its ending to an -a to become nuova.
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