Breakdown of Siccome ho la tosse e il raffreddore, vado dal medico.
e
and
il medico
the doctor
avere
to have
andare
to go / to be fine / to work out
dal
from the; to/at the (da + il)
siccome
since
la tosse
the cough
il raffreddore
the cold
Questions & Answers about Siccome ho la tosse e il raffreddore, vado dal medico.
Why does this sentence start with Siccome instead of Perché?
Why does it say la tosse e il raffreddore instead of "a" cough and "a" cold?
In English, we usually use "a" with common illnesses, saying "I have a cold." Italian, however, uses definite articles (il, la, etc.) for these everyday ailments. So you literally say "I have the cough and the cold."
Why use dal medico if da usually means "from"?
When you are going to a person's home or professional workplace (like a doctor, dentist, or mechanic), Italian uses the preposition da. Here, da combines with il medico to become dal. If you used a (like al medico), it would sound like you are giving something to the doctor, rather than visiting their office.
Could I say Sto andando dal medico for "I am going to the doctor"?
You could, but the simple present tense (vado) is very common and perfectly natural in Italian to express an action you are doing right now or in the immediate future. Italian doesn't require the "-ing" format as strictly as English does.
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