Breakdown of Faccio ritirare le bomboniere al testimone.
fare
to do / to make
a
to / at
ritirare
to pick up
la bomboniera
the wedding favor
Questions & Answers about Faccio ritirare le bomboniere al testimone.
Why is it al testimone and not just il testimone if he is the one doing the picking up?
This is the core rule of the fare causative construction. Because the infinitive verb (ritirare) already has a direct object (le bomboniere), the person performing the action must become an indirect object. We do this by adding the preposition a, which combines with il to make al testimone.
Why are faccio and ritirare right next to each other?
In Italian, fare and the infinitive verb act like an inseparable pair. Unlike English, where we put the person in the middle ("I have the best man pick up"), in Italian you must keep the verbs together: faccio ritirare. The person doing the action usually comes after the verbs and the direct object.
Does testimone only mean "best man"?
Literally, testimone means "witness" (like in a court of law or at an event). At an Italian wedding, it refers to the official witnesses who sign the marriage register. Culturally, this plays the role of the best man or maid of honor. It is a noun that ends in -e, so if the witness is female, you would say alla testimone.