Breakdown of Il nonno è vecchio e non ci sente.
essere
to be
e
and
vecchio
old
non
not
il nonno
the grandfather / the grandparents (plural)
sentirci
to be able to hear (non ci sento = I can't hear)
Questions & Answers about Il nonno è vecchio e non ci sente.
Why is ci used in non ci sente?
It changes the verb sentire (to hear) into the pronominal verb sentirci (to have the physical ability to hear). Instead of saying he isn't hearing a specific sound right now, non ci sente means his actual sense of hearing is failing.
How is sentirci similar to volerci and metterci?
They are all pronominal verbs! Just like adding ci to volere or mettere creates a brand-new meaning about time duration, adding ci to sentire creates a new meaning about physical ability. The ci does not mean "here" or "us" in these verbs; it is simply a built-in particle that changes the dictionary definition.
Could I say non può sentire instead to mean "he can't hear"?
Why is there an article in Il nonno? I thought family members don't use articles.
You drop the article for singular family members only when using a possessive adjective, like mio nonno (my grandpa). Since there is no "my" or "his" in this sentence, we just use the regular definite article il to refer to "Grandpa" in general.
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