Learn Italian: Sii coraggioso, l'orso sta per attaccare! - Be brave, the bear is about to attack!

Sii coraggioso, l'orso sta per attaccare!

Be brave, the bear is about to attack!

Breakdown of Sii coraggioso, l'orso sta per attaccare!

essere

to be

per

for / in order to / because of

stare

to stay, to feel, to be

attaccare

to attack

Questions & Answers about Sii coraggioso, l'orso sta per attaccare!

Where does the word sii come from?

It is the irregular informal command form (imperative) of essere (to be) for tu (you). Because essere doesn't follow the normal rules for commands, you just have to memorize sii when you want to tell someone 'be!'.

How does the phrase sta per attaccare work?

This uses the very common construction stare per followed by an infinitive verb, which means 'to be about to' do something. Here, sta is the 'it' form of stare (matching the bear), paired with the infinitive attaccare (to attack) to mean 'is about to attack'.

Would this sentence change if I were speaking to a woman?

Yes! Because you are giving a command to a specific person (tu), the adjective describing them must match their gender. coraggioso ends in -o, so it is masculine. If you were telling a woman to be brave, you would say Sii coraggiosa!

Why does orso (bear) use the article l' instead of il?