Breakdown of Il primo agosto partiamo per l'Italia.
partire
to leave
per
for / in order to / because of
l'Italia
Italy
l'agosto
August
il primo
first
Questions & Answers about Il primo agosto partiamo per l'Italia.
The lesson says to use cardinal numbers for dates. Why does this sentence use primo instead of uno?
In Italian, the first day of the month is the one exception to the cardinal number rule. You always use the ordinal word primo for the first day, but regular numbers like due or tre for every other day.
Why is il used at the beginning of the sentence when the English translation says On?
To say that something happens on a specific date in Italian, you just use the definite article il before the number. You do not use a preposition for this. Il primo agosto literally translates to the first August, but means on August 1st.
Why does the sentence use the present tense word partiamo if the trip is happening in the future?
Just like in English, Italians frequently use the present tense to talk about fixed or scheduled future plans. Translating partiamo as we leave or we are leaving works perfectly here.
Why is it per l'Italia and not just per Italia?
In Italian, country names generally require a definite article before them. Since Italia starts with a vowel, it takes l'. When you use the preposition per to say you are leaving for a country, you must keep that article.
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