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La donna sta per svenire, chiamo l'ambulanza!

La donna sta per svenire, chiamo l'ambulanza!
The woman is about to faint, I am calling the ambulance!
From Lesson 91:Imminent actions (stare per)·Italian

Questions & Answers about La donna sta per svenire, chiamo l'ambulanza!

How does sta per svenire translate to "is about to faint"?
This uses the structure stare per + an infinitive verb, which means "to be about to" do something. Here, we use sta (the "she" form of stare) + per + svenire (to faint) to show that the fainting is imminent.
Why is chiamo translated as "I am calling" instead of "I call"?
In Italian, the simple present tense like chiamo is very flexible. It is often used for actions happening right now ("I am calling") or actions you are deciding to do right this second ("I will call"). You do not need a continuous or future tense here; the simple present does the job perfectly!
The word svenire looks a lot like venire (to come). Are they related?
Yes! The prefix s- in Italian is often added to a word to give it an opposite, negative, or undoing meaning. While venire means "to come", svenire means "to faint" or "to pass out".
Why is it l'ambulanza and not la ambulanza?
Because ambulanza is a feminine noun that starts with a vowel, the singular feminine article la drops its "a" and connects with an apostrophe. This makes it flow better when speaking. If it were plural, the article would not use an apostrophe: le ambulanze.

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