Learn Italian: Il signore al tavolo vuole guardare il menu. - The gentleman at the table wants to look at the menu.

Il signore al tavolo vuole guardare il menu.

The gentleman at the table wants to look at the menu.

Breakdown of Il signore al tavolo vuole guardare il menu.

to look at / to watch

to / at

Questions & Answers about Il signore al tavolo vuole guardare il menu.

Why is guardare not conjugated here?

The verb volere (to want) is a modal verb. When you want to do something, only the modal verb gets conjugated to match the subject (vuole for "he wants"). The second verb stays in its infinitive or "dictionary" form (guardare), similar to English: "he wants to look".

Why isn't there a word for "at" after guardare?

In Italian, the verb guardare inherently means "to look at" or "to watch" all by itself. You don't need to add an extra word like a (at/to) after it. You just put the thing you are looking at right after the verb: guardare il menu.

Why is it al tavolo and not just a tavolo?

To say "at the table", you need both the preposition a (at) and the definite article il (the). In Italian, these two words must squeeze together into a single combined word: a + il = al.

Why is it il signore and not il signor?

You use the full word signore when referring generally to "the gentleman" or "the man", as in this sentence. You only drop the final "e" (becoming signor) when the word is placed directly before a man's name, such as il signor Rossi (Mr. Rossi).