Certamente, potete pagare con la carta.

Questions & Answers about Certamente, potete pagare con la carta.

Why is the second verb pagare instead of pagate to match "you pay"?
potete is a modal verb meaning "you can". In Italian, when you have a modal verb followed by another action, the second verb stays in its infinitive (dictionary) form. That is why we use pagare (to pay) right after it, rather than conjugating it.
Where is the word for "you" in this sentence?
In Italian, the subject pronoun is usually left out because the verb ending tells you who is doing the action. The verb form potete is specifically the voi (you all) form of potere (to be able to).
Doesn't la carta usually mean "the paper"?
Yes, carta literally means "paper". However, in the context of shopping and payments, it is commonly used as a short way to say la carta di credito (the credit card) or la carta di debito (the debit card).
Does the -mente part of certamente mean something specific?
Yes, the -mente suffix in Italian works just like the "-ly" ending in English. It turns the adjective certo (certain or sure) into the adverb certamente (certainly).

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