Breakdown of L'inclinazione a giudicare gli altri è un pessimo vizio.
essere
to be
un
a / an (masculine)
gli
the
altro
other, another
pessimo
terrible/very bad
giudicare
to judge
a
(linking a verb to a following infinitive)
il vizio
the bad habit / the vice
l'inclinazione
the inclination (f)
Questions & Answers about L'inclinazione a giudicare gli altri è un pessimo vizio.
Why is the preposition a used in l'inclinazione a giudicare instead of di?
The noun inclinazione requires the preposition a when followed by an infinitive. Nouns that express a tendency, readiness, or disposition to act usually take a (like la tendenza a, l'abitudine a). In contrast, nouns expressing abstract ideas, decisions, or needs generally take di (like l'idea di, il bisogno di).
Why do we say gli altri here instead of just altri for 'others'?
In English, we say 'others' to mean people in general, but Italian requires a definite article for broad, general categories. Gli altri means 'other people as a whole.' Using just altri would mean 'some others' rather than everyone else.
Why is the adjective pessimo placed before the noun vizio?
Pessimo is the irregular absolute superlative of cattivo (bad), meaning 'very bad' or 'terrible.' Adjectives expressing a subjective evaluation or inherent quality usually precede the noun. Placing pessimo before vizio emphasizes the speaker's strong judgment.
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