Log inSign up

L'autobus gira a destra, poi va dritto.

L'autobus gira a destra, poi va dritto.
The bus turns right, then goes straight.
From Lesson 78:Directions (le indicazioni)·Italian

Questions & Answers about L'autobus gira a destra, poi va dritto.

Why do we use a in a destra instead of another preposition?
When giving directions in Italian, you always use the preposition a with destra (right) and sinistra (left). For simple turns, you leave out the word for "the", so it is just a destra, not alla destra.
If the subject was feminine, like la macchina (the car), would dritto change to dritta?
No! In this sentence, dritto acts as an adverb meaning "straight ahead." Adverbs never change their endings to match gender or number. So, it would still be la macchina va dritto.
Are gira and va regular verbs?
Gira is from the regular verb girare (to turn). But va is from the highly irregular verb andare (to go). They both end in -a here simply because they are conjugated for "it" (l'autobus).
How would I change this sentence to say "The bus turns left"?
You just need to swap destra with its opposite, sinistra. The new sentence becomes: L'autobus gira a sinistra, poi va dritto.

Learn L'autobus gira a destra, poi va dritto 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 →