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Questions & Answers about Vorrei usare la sauna.
Why use vorrei here instead of voglio?
Voglio means "I want", which can sound too direct or even rude when making a request. Vorrei means "I would like" and is the standard, polite way to ask for things in Italian.
Why doesn't vorrei look much like its infinitive verb, volere?
Volere is an irregular verb. In the conditional tense (as well as the future tense), it drops a vowel and changes the 'l' to an 'r', giving us the special stem vorr-. Then we add the "io" ending for the conditional, which is -ei, to get vorrei.
Why is usare left in its infinitive (dictionary) form?
Because volere is acting as a modal (helper) verb. In Italian, when you combine a modal verb with another verb to express what you want, can, or must do, only the first verb is conjugated. The second verb (usare) stays in the infinitive.
How is sauna pronounced in Italian compared to English?
Even though it is spelled the same, you have to read it with Italian vowel sounds. Instead of saying "saw-nuh", you pronounce the 'a' and 'u' separately and clearly: sah-oo-nah.