Breakdown of Il mago riesce a stupire il pubblico e noi applaudiamo.
e
and
noi
we
a
to / at
il mago
the magician
il pubblico
the audience
riuscire
to manage / to succeed
stupire
to amaze
applaudire
to applaud
Questions & Answers about Il mago riesce a stupire il pubblico e noi applaudiamo.
Why is there an a between riesce and stupire?
The verb riuscire (to manage to / to succeed in) belongs to a specific group of Italian verbs that require the preposition a before a following infinitive verb. That is why "manages to amaze" translates to riesce a stupire.
What is the infinitive of riesce and is it irregular?
The infinitive is riuscire. It is an irregular verb in the present tense because its stem changes for most forms: io riesco, tu riesci, lui/lei riesce, and loro riescono. The noi and voi forms keep the regular stem: riusciamo and riuscite.
Doesn't il pubblico usually mean "the public"?
It does! However, when you are talking about a theater, a magic show, or any kind of performance, il pubblico is the standard Italian translation for "the audience."
Why include the pronoun noi before applaudiamo?
Italian usually drops subject pronouns, but we often use them to show a contrast or a change of subject. Since the first half of the sentence is about the magician's actions, adding noi emphasizes that we are now the ones doing the applauding.
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