Breakdown of Ieri è piovuto, ma i bambini hanno voluto mascherarsi per il Carnevale.
ma
but
il bambino
the child
per
for / in order to / because of
volere
to want
ieri
yesterday
piovere
to rain
il Carnevale
the Carnival
mascherarsi
to dress up
Questions & Answers about Ieri è piovuto, ma i bambini hanno voluto mascherarsi per il Carnevale.
Why does the sentence use è piovuto instead of ha piovuto?
Why is the auxiliary avere used in hanno voluto mascherarsi if mascherarsi is a reflexive verb?
When a modal verb like volere is followed by a reflexive verb, the choice of auxiliary depends on where you put the reflexive pronoun. Since the pronoun si is attached to the end of the infinitive (mascherarsi), you use the regular auxiliary for volere, which is avere (hanno voluto). If you moved the pronoun to the front, you would use essere and match the gender and number: si sono voluti mascherare.
Why is there an il before Carnevale when English just says 'for Carnival'?
In Italian, holidays and festive periods often take a definite article, especially when following a preposition like per or when referring to the festival in general. You will usually see per il Carnevale or per il Natale, though Italians sometimes drop the article (per Carnevale) in casual everyday speech.
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