Breakdown of Preferiamo che loro adottino un gatto dal rifugio.
un
a / an (masculine)
il gatto
cat
loro
they
preferire
to prefer
dal
from the; to/at the (da + il)
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
adottare
to adopt
il rifugio
the shelter / the refuge (general)
Questions & Answers about Preferiamo che loro adottino un gatto dal rifugio.
Why is the verb adottino rather than adottano?
The main verb Preferiamo (we prefer) expresses a desire or preference. In Italian, verbs of volition and desire trigger the subjunctive mood in the following clause. Therefore, after che, the regular present tense adottano changes to the present subjunctive form adottino.
Would I use the subjunctive if the subjects were the same, like if we wanted to adopt the cat ourselves?
No, because the subject wouldn't change. We only use the che + subjunctive structure when the person doing the preferring is different from the person doing the action. If it is the same subject, you just use the infinitive verb: Preferiamo adottare un gatto.
Is it strictly necessary to include the pronoun loro here?
Not strictly. Subject pronouns are usually dropped in Italian. However, they are often kept in subjunctive clauses to emphasize who is doing the action or to make the change of subject (from us to them) completely clear.
Why does the sentence use dal instead of da il?
In Italian, the preposition da (from) merges with the masculine singular definite article il (the) to form the combined word dal. Prepositions and definite articles almost always combine like this in Italian.
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