Learn Italian: Marco mi bacia.

Marco mi bacia.

Marco kisses me.

Breakdown of Marco mi bacia.

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Questions & Answers about Marco mi bacia.

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

In Italian, short object pronouns like mi (me), ti (you), ci (us), and vi (you all) are placed directly before the conjugated verb. So instead of the English word order Marco kisses me, Italian uses Marco me kisses (Marco mi bacia).

Could I say Marco bacia me instead?

Yes, but it changes the emphasis! Saying Marco bacia me puts a heavy spotlight on you, meaning Marco is kissing ME (and not someone else). For a normal, everyday statement, you use the short pronoun mi before the verb.

Why does the verb bacia end in -a?

Bacia comes from the regular verb baciare (to kiss). Because Marco (he) is the one doing the kissing, we use the he/she/it ending for -are verbs, which is -a. The pronoun mi does not change how the verb is conjugated.

Is mi the same as the word for my?

They look similar, but do not mix them up! Mi means me as an object receiving an action. To say my, you would use words like mio or mia (for example, il mio gatto for my cat).