Breakdown of Il bambino ha spostato il piede senza calpestare il fiore e senza una lacrima.
una
a / an (feminine)
e
and
il bambino
the child
il fiore
the flower
avere
to have
senza
without
spostare
to move
il piede
the foot
calpestare
to step on, to trample
la lacrima
the tear (from crying)
Questions & Answers about Il bambino ha spostato il piede senza calpestare il fiore e senza una lacrima.
Why is it senza calpestare (infinitive) instead of a conjugated verb?
When the person performing the main action (the child moving his foot) is the same person performing the 'without' action (the child stepping), Italian uses senza followed directly by an infinitive verb. If the subjects were different (like 'without the dog stepping'), you would have to use senza che followed by a conjugated verb in the subjunctive mood.
In English it says 'moved his foot', so why doesn't the Italian say il suo piede?
In Italian, when you talk about body parts or clothing, you usually use the definite article (il, la, etc.) instead of a possessive adjective (suo, mio, etc.) if it is already obvious whose body part it is. Since the child is the one moving the foot, il piede is perfectly clear and natural.
Why does senza calpestare translate to 'without stepping' (an -ing word) instead of 'without to step'?
In English, prepositions like 'without' are followed by a gerund (an '-ing' word). In Italian, prepositions are instead followed by the basic infinitive form of the verb. So, senza + infinitive is the standard grammatical rule to say 'without doing' something.
We have senza calpestare (a verb) and then senza una lacrima (a noun). Does senza work the same way for both?
Yes! Just like the English word 'without', senza can be followed directly by an infinitive verb to show that a secondary action didn't happen (senza calpestare), or it can be followed by a noun to show the absence of a thing (senza una lacrima).
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