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Spedisco la lettera senza francobollo.

Spedisco la lettera senza francobollo.
I send the letter without a stamp.
From Lesson 37:Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Spedisco la lettera senza francobollo.

Why does the verb spedire become spedisco for 'I send'?
Spedire belongs to a common group of -ire verbs that insert -isc- into their stems. In the present tense, you add -isc- for the singular forms (I, you, he/she) and the 'they' form. So 'I send' becomes io spedisco, while 'we send' remains regular as noi spediamo.
The English translation says 'without a stamp,' but there is no word for 'a' (un) here. Why?
In Italian, the preposition senza (without) usually drops the indefinite article when you are talking about a general, everyday category of things rather than one specific object. Senza francobollo is the standard way to say 'without a stamp'.
This lesson is about pronouns after prepositions. How would I say 'without me' or 'without you' using senza?
When using a pronoun after senza, Italian requires you to insert the word di in between. You then use the strong (tonic) pronouns from this lesson. So, 'without me' is senza di me and 'without you' is senza di te. Notice that you do not need di before a regular noun like francobollo.
Can I use senza with an action, like 'without sending'?
Yes! To say 'without doing something,' you simply put the dictionary form (infinitive) of the verb directly after senza. For example, senza spedire means 'without sending'.

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