Learn Italian: Da neonato, mio figlio dormiva sempre. - As a newborn, my son slept all the time.

Da neonato, mio figlio dormiva sempre.

As a newborn, my son slept all the time.

Breakdown of Da neonato, mio figlio dormiva sempre.

Questions & Answers about Da neonato, mio figlio dormiva sempre.

Why does the sentence use da neonato instead of come neonato to mean 'as a newborn'?

In Italian, to express 'as a [role or stage of life]', you use the preposition da followed directly by the noun. Using come would imply a comparison, meaning 'like a newborn', whereas da neonato means he actually was a newborn at that time.

Why is there no article after da? Shouldn't it be da un neonato?

When using da to indicate a role, profession, or life stage, you drop the article completely. You just say da neonato (as a newborn), da bambino (as a child), or da medico (as a doctor).

Why is it mio figlio and not il mio figlio?

In Italian, you do not use the definite article with singular, unmodified family members. Therefore, it is just mio figlio, mia madre, or tuo fratello. If it were plural or modified by an adjective, you would need the article.

Why is the verb dormiva in the imperfect tense rather than the passato prossimo?

The imperfect tense is used here because the sentence describes a habitual, ongoing state in the past. The word sempre (always) shows that sleeping was a continuous habit during his newborn stage, rather than a single, completed event.