Breakdown of Da' la corda a Marco, sta per cadere dal ramo!
Marco
Marco
per
for / in order to / because of
a
to / at
stare
to stay, to feel, to be
Questions & Answers about Da' la corda a Marco, sta per cadere dal ramo!
Why does Da' have an apostrophe at the end?
Da' is the irregular informal command for dare (to give) when speaking to a single person (tu). It is a shortened version of dai. The apostrophe shows that the final letter has been dropped. You will also see this same pattern with other short irregular verbs in this lesson, like fa' for fare and va' for andare.
Is there a difference between Da' with an apostrophe and dà with an accent?
Yes, they are completely different forms of the verb! Da' with an apostrophe is the imperative (command) form meaning "Give!". On the other hand, dà with an accent is the normal present tense for "he/she/it gives". The punctuation helps you tell the difference in writing.
How does sta per cadere translate to "he is about to fall"?
Why do we use dal ramo instead of del ramo?