Breakdown of Vorrei sentire il musicista cantare senza suonare la chitarra.
sentire
to hear
senza
without
volere
to want
cantare
to sing
suonare
to play (an instrument)
il musicista
musician
la chitarra
the guitar
Questions & Answers about Vorrei sentire il musicista cantare senza suonare la chitarra.
Why do we use the infinitive cantare here instead of a conjugated verb?
With perception verbs like sentire (to hear) and vedere (to see), Italian commonly uses the infinitive to describe the action being perceived. The structure is [perception verb] + [object] + [infinitive]. Here, sentire + il musicista + cantare translates to "to hear the musician sing".
Could I use che canta instead of cantare?
Yes! With perception verbs, you can either use the infinitive (sentire il musicista cantare) or a relative clause with che (sentire il musicista che canta). The meaning is virtually identical, though the infinitive is often preferred for its smooth flow.
Why is it il musicista with an -a ending instead of il musicisto?
Professions ending in -ista (like musicista, dentista, giornalista) are unique: they end in -a in the singular for both men and women. You tell the gender by the article. Since this is a male musician, we use the masculine article il. In the plural, the endings do change: i musicisti for men, le musiciste for women.
Why does "without playing" translate to senza suonare and not a gerund like senza suonando?
In Italian, prepositions like senza (without), di (of), and per (for) must always be followed by the infinitive form of a verb, never the gerund. Therefore, "without playing" is strictly senza suonare.
Why use sentire (to hear) here rather than ascoltare (to listen)?
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