Breakdown of Vogliamo che la guida spieghi questo capolavoro magnifico.
questo
this (masculine)
volere
to want
spiegare
to explain
il capolavoro
the masterpiece
Questions & Answers about Vogliamo che la guida spieghi questo capolavoro magnifico.
The current lesson is about exclamatives. Is the 'che' in this sentence an exclamative?
No. While che is used in exclamations to mean 'what a' or 'how' (like che bello!), here it acts as a standard conjunction meaning 'that'. It connects the main verb of wanting (vogliamo) to the action we want to happen.
Why is the verb spieghi instead of spiega?
Because it follows vogliamo che (we want that). In Italian, verbs expressing desires, wishes, or hopes trigger the subjunctive mood in the following dependent clause. Spieghi is the present subjunctive form of spiegare for the third person singular (la guida).
Why is there an 'h' in spieghi?
The 'h' is added to keep the hard 'g' sound of the infinitive spiegare. Without the 'h', the 'gi' combination would create a soft 'j' sound, like in the word gelato. Verbs ending in -care and -gare always add an 'h' when the conjugated ending starts with an 'i' or an 'e'.
What makes up the word capolavoro?
It is a compound noun made of capo (head, chief, or boss) and lavoro (work). This translates perfectly to the English concept of a 'masterwork' or 'masterpiece'.