Breakdown of Spero che le foglie restino sulla pianta.
restare
to stay, to remain
sul
on the; about the (su + il)
sperare
to hope
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
la pianta
the plant
la foglia
the leaf
Questions & Answers about Spero che le foglie restino sulla pianta.
Why is the verb spelled restino instead of restano?
The verb restare (to stay) is in the present subjunctive form here because it follows Spero che (I hope that). In Italian, verbs expressing hope, desire, or doubt trigger the subjunctive. For regular -are verbs, the "they" form (loro) in the present subjunctive ends in -ino, unlike the regular present tense which ends in -ano.
Do I always have to use the subjunctive after Spero?
You use the subjunctive after Spero che when the subject changes. Here, the first subject is "I" (Spero) and the second subject is "the leaves" (le foglie). If the subject stays the same (for example, "I hope to stay"), you drop the che, use the preposition di, and leave the verb in the infinitive: Spero di restare.
What is the singular form of le foglie?
Why is it sulla pianta and not just su la pianta?
Sulla is a combined preposition. In Italian, when the preposition su (on) is followed by a definite article like la (the), they must merge together into a single word. Since pianta is feminine singular, it takes la, combining with su to make sulla.
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