Word
Invece di spendere per noia, faccio qualcosa di utile.
Meaning
Instead of spending out of boredom, I do something useful.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Invece di spendere per noia, faccio qualcosa di utile.
per
for / in order to / because of
fare
to do / to make
qualcosa
something
utile
useful
Questions & Answers about Invece di spendere per noia, faccio qualcosa di utile.
Why does the Italian sentence use the infinitive spendere when the English translation uses the '-ing' form 'spending'?
In Italian, when a verb follows a preposition like the di in invece di, it must be in the infinitive form. English uses the '-ing' form after prepositions, but Italian always uses the infinitive.
Can I use anziché here instead of invece di?
Absolutely. You could say Anziché spendere... and the meaning remains exactly the same. Just remember that anziché is a single word and connects directly to the infinitive without needing an extra di.
Why is the preposition per used in per noia? Doesn't it mean 'for'?
While per often means 'for', it is also used to express the cause or reason for an action. In this context, per noia translates to 'out of boredom' or 'because of boredom'.
Why is there a di in qualcosa di utile? Why not just qualcosa utile?
In Italian, when you want to describe an indefinite pronoun like qualcosa (something) or niente (nothing) with an adjective, you must place the preposition di between them. Think of it literally as 'something of useful'.