Breakdown of Non puoi proibire tutte le feste per mantenere il controllo.
non
not
per
for / in order to / because of
la festa
party
tutto
all the / whole
potere
can, to be able to
mantenere
to maintain / to keep (preserve, support)
proibire
to forbid
il controllo
control
Questions & Answers about Non puoi proibire tutte le feste per mantenere il controllo.
Since this lesson is about lasciare + infinitive, how would I use an infinitive after proibire?
Unlike lasciare, which connects directly to the next verb (like lasciare andare for "to let go"), proibire requires the preposition di if a verb follows it. For example, you would say proibire di ballare ("to forbid dancing"). In this specific sentence, however, proibire is followed directly by a noun (tutte le feste), so no preposition is needed.
Why is there a le after tutte? Can't I just say tutte feste?
Why do we need per before mantenere? Doesn't the infinitive already mean "to keep"?
While the infinitive mantenere does mean "to keep", you must add per when the "to" in English actually means "in order to". The speaker is forbidding parties in order to keep control. Whenever you are expressing the purpose, goal, or reason for an action, always use per + infinitive.
Is mantenere conjugated like a regular -ere verb?
No, it's highly irregular. Because it is built from the base verb tenere (to hold/keep), it follows the exact same irregular pattern as tenere. Just as you say io tengo and tu tieni, you would say io mantengo and tu mantieni. Luckily, it stays in the infinitive here after per!
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