Breakdown of Affidiamo la musica del ricevimento al musicista.
di
of, from
la musica
music
a
to / at
il musicista
musician
il ricevimento
the reception (formal event)
affidare
to entrust
Questions & Answers about Affidiamo la musica del ricevimento al musicista.
"Musicista" ends in "-a". Why does it use the masculine "al" (a + il) instead of the feminine "alla"?
Nouns ending in -ista that refer to professions (like musicista, dentista, or turista) have the same ending for both men and women in the singular. To show gender, you just change the article. Al musicista (masculine) refers to a male musician, whereas alla musicista (feminine) would refer to a female musician.
Why do we use "al" (to the) here instead of just saying "il musicista"?
The verb affidare (to entrust) requires the preposition a (to) before the person receiving the task or object. It combines with the masculine article il to form al. This "direct object + a + indirect object" pattern is the exact same underlying structure used in the causative constructions you are practicing!
This lesson is about the "fare" causative construction, but there is no "fare" here. Why is this sentence included?
It perfectly mirrors the causative syntax! In a causative sentence like Facciamo suonare la musica al musicista (We have the musician play the music), there is a direct object (la musica). Because of this, the person performing the action must be introduced by a (al musicista). This sentence reminds you that this isn't a weird new rule for fare, but rather the standard Italian way of handling a direct object and a receiving person in the same sentence.
Could Affidiamo also be translated as "Let's entrust"?
Yes, it absolutely can. In Italian, the noi (we) form of the present indicative is identical to the noi form of the imperative (the command form). Context will usually tell you if it's a statement of fact ("We entrust...") or a suggestion ("Let's entrust!").
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