Breakdown of Marco spinge il suo corpo fino allo sfinimento.
Marco
Marco
suo
his/her/Your
a
to / at
il corpo
the body
Questions & Answers about Marco spinge il suo corpo fino allo sfinimento.
Why does the sentence use fino allo instead of just fino a?
Fino a means up to or until. When it is followed by a noun that requires a definite article, the preposition a combines with that article. Here, the noun sfinimento takes the article lo, so a and lo combine to form allo, making the full phrase fino allo sfinimento.
Why does sfinimento take the article lo rather than il?
Can fino a be used for time, space, and conditions like this?
Yes! While this sentence uses fino a to show a condition or limit (pushing the body up to the point of exhaustion), you will also see it used for time, like fino a domani (until tomorrow), or for physical distance, like fino a Roma (as far as Rome).
Why is there an il before suo corpo?
Unlike English where we just say his body, Italian usually requires a definite article before possessive adjectives. So, his body becomes il suo corpo (literally the his body). The main exception to this rule is with singular family members, which do not take the article.