Log inSign up

Apro la busta e leggo la lettera.

Apro la busta e leggo la lettera.
I open the envelope and read the letter.
From Lesson 37:Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Apro la busta e leggo la lettera.

Why doesn't the sentence say Io apro and io leggo?
In Italian, you usually drop the subject pronoun (like io for I) because the ending of the verb already tells you who is doing the action. Both apro and leggo end in -o, which is the standard I ending for regular verbs in the present tense.
What are the dictionary forms (infinitives) of the verbs apro and leggo?
Apro comes from aprire (to open), which is an -ire verb. Leggo comes from leggere (to read), which is an -ere verb. Even though they belong to different verb groups, their I forms both end in -o.
Why does leggo have a hard g sound (like in go) but its dictionary form leggere has a soft g sound (like in gel)?
In Italian, the letter g is soft before e or i, but hard before a, o, or u. Since leggo ends in o, the g makes a hard sound. When you conjugate leggere, the sound shifts depending on the vowel that follows the g.
Is the word busta related to the English word bus or bust?
No, busta is a false friend! It means envelope (as it does here with a letter) or bag (like a plastic shopping bag). It has nothing to do with a bus or a bust.

Learn Apro la busta e leggo la lettera and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Italian →