Breakdown of Prima ho mangiato, poi ho studiato.
studiare
to study
mangiare
to eat
prima
before, earlier
poi
then, afterwards
Questions & Answers about Prima ho mangiato, poi ho studiato.
Why are prima and poi placed at the very beginning of their clauses here?
Are prima and poi a set phrase?
They are often paired! Using prima ... poi ... is the standard Italian way to say "First [A], then [B]" when telling a story or listing events.
Why use ho mangiato (I have eaten) instead of a simple past tense for "I ate"?
In everyday spoken Italian, this tense (the passato prossimo) is the most common way to talk about completed past actions. It naturally translates to the English simple past ("I ate") as well as "I have eaten".
Why isn't the word io (I) in this sentence?
Italian usually drops subject pronouns like io because the verb already tells you who is acting. The verb ho (I have) can only refer to "I", so io is unnecessary unless you really want to emphasize that you did it.
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