Learn Italian: Attivo l'antifurto perché previene i furti. - I activate the burglar alarm because it prevents thefts.

Attivo l'antifurto perché previene i furti.

I activate the burglar alarm because it prevents thefts.

Breakdown of Attivo l'antifurto perché previene i furti.

the burglar alarm (m)

Questions & Answers about Attivo l'antifurto perché previene i furti.

Why is the verb previene in the indicative mood instead of the subjunctive here?

In this sentence, perché expresses a cause or reason (meaning "because"), so it takes the indicative mood. The current lesson contrasts this with perché meaning "so that" or "in order that" (expressing purpose), which triggers the subjunctive. Because the alarm preventing thefts is a factual reason rather than an intentional goal placed on a second subject, the indicative is correct.

What is the infinitive of previene and is it irregular?

The infinitive is prevenire (to prevent). It is irregular, but it follows the exact same conjugation pattern as the highly common verb venire (to come). If you know that "it comes" is viene, you just add the prefix pre- to get previene.

L'antifurto is a compound word. How does it change in the plural?

It generally stays invariable in the plural as gli antifurto (the burglar alarms). Nouns formed by combining the prefix anti- with a masculine noun usually do not change their ending in the plural, though you might occasionally hear antifurti in casual speech.

Why does the Italian sentence say i furti when the English translation just says "thefts" without the article?

In Italian, definite articles (like i) are required when talking about nouns in a general or categorical sense. English often drops the article for general plural nouns, but Italian requires it to show we mean "thefts" as a broad concept.