Learn Italian: Personalmente, ritengo il candidato adatto. - Personally, I consider the candidate suitable.

Personalmente, ritengo il candidato adatto.

Personally, I consider the candidate suitable.

Breakdown of Personalmente, ritengo il candidato adatto.

to believe / to consider (deem)

personalmente

personally

Questions & Answers about Personalmente, ritengo il candidato adatto.

Why is the adverb personalmente rather than personalemente?

When forming an adverb from an adjective that ends in -le or -re, you drop the final e before adding the suffix -mente. Since the adjective here is personale, it drops the e to become personalmente. This makes the word flow much better and avoids a clumsy string of vowels.

Why is there no che (that) after ritengo in this sentence?

The verb ritenere (to consider) can be followed by a che clause, which would require the subjunctive here: ritengo che il candidato sia adatto. However, it can also take a direct object and an adjective directly, just like the English 'I consider the candidate suitable'. This direct structure is very common and concise in professional settings.

How does ritengo differ from using penso or credo?

While they all express an opinion, ritenere implies a more formal, analytical, or objective assessment. It sounds much more professional than pensare (to think), which is why it pairs so well with evaluating a candidato in a business or academic context.

What happens to adatto if we change il candidato to plural?