Breakdown of In Italia di solito si beve il caffè la mattina.
in
in / made of (material)
di
of, from
il caffè
the coffee
la mattina
the morning
l'Italia
Italy
solito
usual
si
one (impersonal)
bere
to drink
di solito
usually
Questions & Answers about In Italia di solito si beve il caffè la mattina.
Why do we use si beve here instead of just beve?
What happens to si beve if the sentence talks about multiple coffees?
When using the impersonal si with a direct object, the verb actually has to agree with that object. Because il caffè is singular, we use the singular verb form si beve. If the object were plural, like i caffè, the verb would change to match it: si bevono i caffè.
Why is "in the morning" translated as just la mattina? Shouldn't it use a word for "in"?
In Italian, when you want to say something happens regularly during a certain part of the day, you usually just use the definite article. So, la mattina naturally means "in the morning" or "mornings". You will also sometimes see di mattina, which means the same thing, but you should avoid using in or nella.
What is the infinitive form of beve?
It comes from the irregular verb bere (to drink). Even though the infinitive ends in -ere, its conjugated forms are built from the old Latin stem bev-. This is why the "he/she/it" form becomes beve.
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