Question 1

Why do we use the direct object pronoun la here instead of the indirect object pronoun le?

Accepted Answer

In the lasciare + infinitive structure, the person you let do something is the direct object (la) if the second verb doesn't take an object of its own (like tornare, which is intransitive). If she were doing an action to something else, like eating a pizza, she would become the indirect object (le).

Question 2

Can I attach the pronoun la to the end of the infinitive, saying lasci tornarla?

Accepted Answer

No, you cannot. In the permissive construction (lasciare + infinitive), the pronoun representing the person allowed to do something must go before the conjugated verb (lasciare). So it must be la lasci tornare.

Question 3

Could I use permettere instead of lasciare to say 'let' or 'allow'?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but the grammar would change. Permettere requires an indirect object and the preposition di. The sentence would become A che ora le permetti di tornare stasera? Lasciare is much more common in everyday speech because the structure is simpler.

Question 4

Why is it A che ora and not just Che ora?

Accepted Answer

To ask at what time an event happens, you must use A che ora. If you just use Che ora, you are usually asking for the current time on the clock, as in Che ora è? (What time is it?).

A che ora la lasci tornare stasera?

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