Leggo sempre l'inizio del libro due volte.

Questions & Answers about Leggo sempre l'inizio del libro due volte.

Why is sempre placed after the verb here instead of before it like in English?
In English, we say "I always read" (adverb before verb). In Italian, adverbs of frequency like sempre (always) usually go right after the conjugated verb. So, Leggo sempre essentially means "I read always".
This lesson is about verbs like iniziare (to begin). How does l'inizio fit in?
L'inizio is the noun form, meaning "the beginning" or "the start", whereas iniziare is the verb. Since this lesson focuses on how to use verbs like iniziare in the past tense, it is a great time to also recognize the noun l'inizio when you just want to say "the start of" something, rather than using a verb at all.
Why is "twice" translated as due volte?
English has specific words for "once" and "twice", but Italian simply says "two times": due (two) + volte (plural of volta, meaning a time or occurrence). Be careful not to use tempo here, which refers to time on a clock or the weather, not repeated occurrences.
Why does the sentence use del libro instead of just di libro?
To say "of the book", Italian combines the preposition di (of) and the definite article il (the) into the single combined word del. If you just said di libro, it would sound like "the beginning of book" without the "the".

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