Breakdown of Non vado da Maria, vado da un parente.
un
a / an (masculine)
non
not
da
from, at (someone's place) / by (oneself), on one's own
andare
to go / to be fine / to work out
Maria
Maria
il parente
the relative
Questions & Answers about Non vado da Maria, vado da un parente.
Why do we use da here instead of a for "to"?
Why is it da un parente as two words, rather than combining them?
The preposition da only glues together with definite articles (meaning "the", like il or la). Because un is an indefinite article (meaning "a" or "an"), it never combines with the preposition. They stay as two separate words.
Does parente mean "parent"?
No, parente is a false friend! It looks like the English word "parent," but it actually means "relative" in general (like an aunt, cousin, or grandparent). If you want to say "parent" in Italian, the word is genitore.
Why doesn't the sentence start with io (I)?
In Italian, the verb ending tells you exactly who is doing the action. The verb vado can only mean "I go" or "I am going." Because of this, the subject pronoun io is dropped unless you want to add special emphasis.
Learn Non vado da Maria, vado da un parente 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