Learn Italian: Vuole affidarsi al destino? Lo trovo molto strano. - You want to rely on destiny? I find it very strange.

Vuole affidarsi al destino? Lo trovo molto strano.

You want to rely on destiny? I find it very strange.

Breakdown of Vuole affidarsi al destino? Lo trovo molto strano.

Questions & Answers about Vuole affidarsi al destino? Lo trovo molto strano.

What exactly does lo replace in the second sentence?

Here, lo does not replace a specific masculine noun. Instead, it acts as a pro-clausal pronoun, meaning it replaces the entire preceding idea: the fact that the person wants to rely on destiny. English uses the word it in exactly the same way here.

The English translation addresses the listener as you, but the Italian uses the third-person verb vuole. How would this change if speaking informally?

Vuole indicates the formal Lei. If you were speaking to a friend, you would use the second-person vuoi. Crucially, the attached pronoun on the infinitive must also match the subject, so the informal version becomes Vuoi affidarti al destino?

Why is there a si attached to the end of affidarsi?

The base verb affidare means to entrust something to someone. To say you rely on or entrust yourself to something, you use the reflexive form affidarsi. The pronoun si attaches directly to the end of the infinitive because the verb is paired with the modal verb vuole.

Why is destino preceded by al instead of just il?