Learn Italian: Ti dico la verità. - I am telling you the truth.

Ti dico la verità.

I am telling you the truth.

Breakdown of Ti dico la verità.

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Questions & Answers about Ti dico la verità.

Why does the sentence use ti instead of tu?

While tu means "you" as the subject (the person doing the action), ti is an indirect object pronoun meaning "to you." In Italian, the verb dire (to tell) is used like "to tell to someone," so you need ti.

Why does ti come before the verb instead of after it?

In English, we put the pronoun after the verb ("I tell you"). But in Italian, indirect object pronouns like ti are placed immediately before the conjugated verb. Literally, this sentence flows as "To you (I) tell the truth."

Where is the word for "I" in this sentence?

It is built right into the verb! dico is the "I" form of the verb dire (to say/tell). Because the verb ending already shows who is doing the action, Italian usually drops the subject pronoun io (I) unless you want to add special emphasis.

What is the dictionary form of the verb dico?

The infinitive (dictionary form) is dire (to say or to tell). It is a very common irregular verb, which is why its "I" form, dico, looks a bit different than regular verbs.