Questions & Answers about Troppo caffè fa male.
Why do we use fa (does/makes) here instead of the verb for "to be"?
In Italian, the phrase for "is bad for you" or "hurts" uses the verb fare (to do/make) combined with male (bad/poorly). It literally translates to "does bad." Because the subject "too much coffee" is a third-person singular "it", we use the form fa. The English translation adds "for you." Where is that in the Italian sentence?
It is just implied by the general expression! Fa male as a standalone statement means "is bad [for one's health]" or "causes harm." If you wanted to specify exactly who it hurts, you would add a pronoun, such as mi fa male (it is bad for me / it hurts me). Does troppo change its ending depending on what comes after it?
Yes! When troppo means "too much" or "too many," it acts as a describing word (an adjective) and must match the noun it describes. Since caffè is masculine and singular, it stays troppo. If you were talking about "too many apples" (feminine plural), it would change to match: troppe mele. Why is there an accent mark on the end of caffè?
The accent mark tells you to put the spoken stress on that final syllable (caf-FEH). A handy rule for A1 learners: Italian nouns that end in an accented vowel never change their ending when they become plural. So, one coffee is un caffè and two coffees is due caffè! Learn Troppo caffè fa male and more in Italian
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