Learn Italian: Lo studente deve finire il compito. - The student has to finish the homework.

Lo studente deve finire il compito.

The student has to finish the homework.

Breakdown of Lo studente deve finire il compito.

Questions & Answers about Lo studente deve finire il compito.

Why is it deve finire and not deve finisce?

When you use a modal verb like dovere (must / to have to), the action verb that follows it stays in its original dictionary form, called the infinitive. Here, deve already shows that the student is the one doing the action, so finire (to finish) doesn't need to change.

Why isn't there a word for 'to' between deve and finire?

In English, we say 'has to finish', but in Italian, modal verbs like dovere connect directly to the next verb. You don't need any extra prepositions in between. Deve finire completely covers 'has to finish' or 'must finish'.

Why does the sentence use Lo studente instead of Il studente?

The word studente is masculine but it starts with an 's' followed by another consonant (t). In Italian, masculine words that start with 's + consonant' (as well as z, gn, or ps) use the definite article lo instead of the regular il.

I usually see homework translated as i compiti. Why is it il compito here?

Italians often use the plural i compiti when talking about homework in a general sense (like a pile of homework from school). Using the singular il compito usually implies one specific assignment or task that the student needs to finish.