Breakdown of La smania di vincere ti farà perdere la partita.
fare
to do / to make
la partita
the match
ti
to you
perdere
to lose, to miss
vincere
to win
di
to (linking a verb to a following infinitive)
la smania
the craving/the urge
Questions & Answers about La smania di vincere ti farà perdere la partita.
Why do we use di in smania di vincere instead of a?
In Italian, abstract nouns that express a feeling, desire, or state of mind usually require the preposition di before a following infinitive. Just like voglia di (desire to) or paura di (fear of), the noun smania (craving or urge) must be linked to the verb with di.
Why does the sentence use the indirect object pronoun ti before farà perdere?
This uses the causative construction (fare + infinitive) to mean making someone do something. Because the second verb, perdere, has its own direct object (la partita), the person performing the action (you) must be expressed as an indirect object. Therefore, we use ti (to you) to show who is being made to lose.
Can I attach the pronoun ti to the end of the infinitive, like farà perderti?
No, in a causative fare construction, you cannot attach pronouns to the second infinitive. Pronouns must either precede the conjugated form of fare (like ti farà perdere here) or attach to the end of fare itself if it is an infinitive, imperative, or gerund.
How does smania differ from the more common word voglia?
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