Breakdown of Mio fratello non fa altro che poltrire sul divano.
non
not
il fratello
the brother
mio
my
fare
to do / to make
il divano
the sofa
altro
other, another
sul
on the; about the (su + il)
che
than (in comparisons)
poltrire
to laze about
Questions & Answers about Mio fratello non fa altro che poltrire sul divano.
How exactly does non fare altro che work in this sentence?
This phrase translates literally to "not to do other that." It is the standard structure in Italian to express that someone "does nothing but" or "is constantly doing" a certain action. The verb immediately following che must always be in the present infinitive, which is why we see poltrire (to laze about) here.
If I wanted to talk about the past ("He did nothing but laze about"), would both verbs change?
No, only the verb fare changes! The verb after che always remains in the infinitive regardless of the tense. To put this in the past (passato prossimo), you would say: Mio fratello non ha fatto altro che poltrire sul divano.
Is the verb poltrire related to the word for armchair (poltrona)?
Just as a reminder, why is it Mio fratello and not Il mio fratello?
In Italian, you drop the definite article before a possessive adjective (mio, tuo, etc.) when referring to a singular, unmodified family member. If he were your little brother (il mio fratellino) or if you had multiple brothers (i miei fratelli), the article would come back.
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