Breakdown of Marco mi fa perdere la pazienza.
Marco
Marco
fare
to do / to make
mi
to me
perdere
to lose, to miss
la pazienza
the patience
Questions & Answers about Marco mi fa perdere la pazienza.
How does the "fare + infinitive" structure work in this sentence?
This is the causative construction, used when a subject causes someone else to do an action. You conjugate fare for the person causing the action (Marco fa) and follow it immediately with the infinitive of the action being caused (perdere). These two verbs act as a single grammatical unit.
Is the pronoun "mi" a direct or indirect object here?
It is an indirect object, which is a tricky rule of the causative construction! Because the second verb (perdere) already has a direct object (la pazienza), the person being forced to do the action must become the indirect object. So, mi here grammatically acts as "to me" even though we translate it as "makes me".
Could I attach the pronoun to the infinitive and say "Marco fa perdermi la pazienza"?
Why does the Italian say "la pazienza" (the patience) instead of "la mia pazienza" (my patience)?
In Italian, when the "owner" of a state of mind, body part, or personal attribute is already clear from an object pronoun (like mi), you drop the possessive adjective. The definite article la combined with the pronoun is enough to convey "my patience."
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