Breakdown of Voglio che tu ti prenda cura del gatto.
il gatto
the cat
volere
to want
prendersi cura
to take care of
Questions & Answers about Voglio che tu ti prenda cura del gatto.
Why does this sentence use prenda instead of prendi?
Voglio (I want) expresses a desire. When expressing a desire for someone else to do something, Italian requires che followed by the subjunctive mood. prenda is the present subjunctive form of prendere for tu.
Where does the ti in ti prenda come from?
The Italian expression for "to take care of" is prendersi cura di. It acts as a reflexive verb phrase, so it requires a reflexive pronoun. Since the subject is tu (you), the matching pronoun is ti.
Is the word tu strictly necessary here, since Italian usually drops subject pronouns?
It is highly recommended here. In the present subjunctive, the io, tu, and lui/lei forms for regular verbs like prendere are exactly the same (prenda). Including tu avoids any confusion about exactly who needs to take care of the cat.
Why do we say del gatto instead of just il gatto?
The verb phrase prendersi cura is always followed by the preposition di (of). When you combine di with the definite article il (the) for gatto, it forms the combined word del.
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