Breakdown of Devo ritirare il cappotto in lavanderia. Ci vado adesso.
in
in / made of (material)
andare
to go / to be fine / to work out
il cappotto
coat
adesso
now
dovere
must
ci
there (clitic)
ritirare
to pick up
la lavanderia
dry cleaner
Questions & Answers about Devo ritirare il cappotto in lavanderia. Ci vado adesso.
What does ci mean here, and why does it come before the verb?
I thought ritirare meant "to retire". Is this a mistake?
It looks like it, but ritirare is a false friend! Here it means "to pick up" or "to collect" something, like your coat or a package. If you want to talk about retiring from a job, you would use the phrase andare in pensione.
Why do we use the preposition in for in lavanderia?
As a handy rule, Italian uses the preposition in without any article (like "the") for most shops and businesses that end in -eria. You will see this same pattern with in pizzeria, in gelateria, and in panetteria.
Why is ritirare not conjugated to match devo?
Devo is a modal verb (meaning "I must" or "I have to"). When you use a modal verb, the main action word that follows it always stays in its base, dictionary form (the infinitive). That is why we say devo ritirare and never devo ritiro.
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