Breakdown of Vado al mercato per comprare le mele.
la mela
the apple
comprare
to buy
per
for / in order to / because of
andare
to go / to be fine / to work out
Questions & Answers about Vado al mercato per comprare le mele.
Why do we use al instead of just saying a il mercato?
In Italian, the preposition a (to/at) naturally merges with definite articles like il (the) to make a single joined word. Because mercato is a masculine singular noun starting with a consonant, it takes the article il. When you combine a + il, you must form the articulated preposition al.
The English translation just says buy apples, so why does the Italian sentence use le mele (the apples)?
Why is there a per before comprare? Doesn't the infinitive verb comprare already mean to buy?
Yes, comprare means to buy. However, when you are stating the specific purpose or reason for your action (I am going in order to buy), Italian uses the preposition per right before the infinitive verb.
Why is there no word for I before Vado?