Learn Italian: Il cameriere mi dà il resto. - The waiter gives me the change.

Il cameriere mi dà il resto.

The waiter gives me the change.

Breakdown of Il cameriere mi dà il resto.

the change (money given back)

Questions & Answers about Il cameriere mi dà il resto.

Why is mi placed before the verb instead of after it?

In Italian, indirect object pronouns like mi (meaning to me) almost always go right before the conjugated verb. While in English you say gives me, the Italian structure is literally to me gives (mi dà).

Why does the word dà have an accent mark?

The accent mark is there to tell it apart from the word da (without an accent), which is a very common preposition meaning from or by. Because they sound exactly the same, the written accent shows that dà is the verb meaning he gives.

Doesn't il resto usually mean the rest?

Yes, it often means the rest in other situations, but when you are talking about money, shopping, or restaurants, il resto specifically means the change you receive back after paying.

Could I say dà il resto a me instead of mi dà il resto?

Yes, you can! Using a me after the verb instead of mi before it puts special emphasis on who is receiving the change. You would use dà il resto a me to stress that the waiter gave the money specifically to you, and not to someone else at the table.