Breakdown of Credo che sia necessario salvaguardare le balene dall'estinzione.
essere
to be
da
from, at (someone's place) / by (oneself), on one's own
credere
to believe
che
that (conjunction introducing a clause)
la balena
the whale
necessario
necessary
salvaguardare
to safeguard
l'estinzione
the extinction (f)
Questions & Answers about Credo che sia necessario salvaguardare le balene dall'estinzione.
Why do we use the subjunctive sia here instead of the indicative è?
The phrase Credo che (I believe that) introduces a personal opinion or thought. In Italian, expressing subjectivity or uncertainty in the main clause triggers the subjunctive mood in the dependent clause, so we use sia (the present subjunctive of essere).
Why isn't there a preposition like di or a before the infinitive salvaguardare?
Impersonal expressions formed with the verb essere plus an adjective, like è necessario (or its subjunctive form sia necessario), are followed directly by the infinitive. You do not need a preposition to link them.
Why does dall'estinzione use the preposition da?
The verb salvaguardare (to safeguard or protect) takes the preposition da to specify what you are protecting something from. Here, da combines with the definite article l' to form the articulated preposition dall'.
What is the difference between using salvaguardare and just saying salvare here?
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