Breakdown of Serve l'autorizzazione prima di inaugurare la piazza.
la piazza
the square
prima di
before (doing something) / before (a noun / point in time)
servire
to be needed (mi serve = I need)
l'autorizzazione
the authorization (f)
Questions & Answers about Serve l'autorizzazione prima di inaugurare la piazza.
Why is serve used here to mean "is needed", and what is the subject of the sentence?
In Italian, servire is commonly used to mean "to be needed" or "to be necessary." It works structurally just like the verb piacere. The thing that is needed—in this case, l'autorizzazione—is actually the grammatical subject of the sentence, which is why the verb is in the third-person singular (serve).
Why is the subject (l'autorizzazione) placed after the verb (serve)?
While you could grammatically say L'autorizzazione serve..., putting the subject after the verb is the most natural word order here. Italian frequently inverts the subject and verb with verbs of necessity, existence, or lacking (like servire, mancare, or bastare) to put the emphasis on the fact that something is required.
How would I change this sentence to say that I specifically need the authorization?
Why do we use prima di with the infinitive inaugurare instead of using prima che?