Breakdown of I bambini possono restare nel parco.
il bambino
the child
il parco
the park
in
in / made of (material)
potere
can, to be able to
restare
to stay, to remain
nel
in the (in + il) / while / upon (doing something)
Questions & Answers about I bambini possono restare nel parco.
Why is the verb restare not conjugated here?
Because it comes right after the modal verb possono (they can). In Italian, just like in English, when you use a modal verb, the main action verb that follows it stays in its dictionary form, or infinitive (ending in -are, -ere, or -ire).
Where does possono come from?
It is the 'they' form of the highly irregular verb potere, which means 'to be able to' or 'can'. Modal verbs like potere are often irregular in the present tense, so their forms just have to be memorized!
Does restare mean 'to rest'?
No, it is a 'false friend'! Restare actually means 'to stay' or 'to remain'. If you wanted to say that the children are resting, you would use a completely different verb: riposare.
Why does the sentence use nel instead of just in?
In Italian, when the preposition in (in) is immediately followed by the definite article il (the), they merge together to form the single word nel. So, nel parco translates perfectly to 'in the park'.
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